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Identification of Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum in a 200-year-old skeletal specimen
C J Kolman1, A Centurion-Lara, S A Lukehart
1Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education, Suitland, Maryland, USA.
Abstract:
Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum, the causative agent of venereal syphilis, was detected in a 200-year-old skeletal specimen from Easter Island. An initial diagnosis of treponemal infection was confirmed by extensive purification of immunoglobulin that reacted strongly with T. pallidum antigen. Extracted DNA exhibited a single-base polymorphism that distinguished T.p. subsp. pallidum from 4 other human and nonhuman treponemes. Extensive precautions against contamination of the subject matter with modern treponemal DNA were employed, including analysis of archaeological and modern specimens in 2 geographically separate laboratories. Molecular determination of historical disease states by using skeletal material can significantly enhance our understanding of the pathology and spread of infectious diseases.
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