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Related Experiment Videos

Bejel: acquirable only in childhood?

Bruce M Rothschild1, Christine Rothschild, Virginia Naples

  • 1Arthritis Center of Northeast Ohio, 5500 Market Street, Youngstown, OH 44512, USA. bmr@ku.edu

Acta Tropica
|October 20, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Bejel, a disease with a history in the Middle East, shows no evidence of transmission to Europe. Skeletal studies found no significant periosteal reactions, suggesting bejel is acquired in childhood.

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Area of Science:

  • Paleopathology
  • Infectious Disease Epidemiology
  • Medical History

Background:

  • Bejel (endemic non-treponemal syphilis) is historically documented in the Middle East and Sudan.
  • Transmission of bejel is understood to occur primarily through close childhood contact.
  • Periosteal reaction is a key skeletal indicator of bejel infection.

Observation:

  • Skeletal remains from continental Europe dating to the Crusades period were examined.
  • The study assessed the frequency of periosteal reactions indicative of bejel in these European populations.
  • No significant prevalence of periosteal reactions was identified in the examined European skeletal samples.

Findings:

  • The absence of significant periosteal reactions in European skeletal populations excludes bejel as a diagnosis during the Crusades.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Despite documented contact between European and Middle Eastern groups, bejel transmission to Europe was not evidenced.
  • The findings support the hypothesis that bejel is predominantly a childhood-acquired infection.

    • Implications:

    • This research clarifies the historical geographic distribution of bejel, excluding Europe.
    • It reinforces the understanding of bejel's transmission dynamics, particularly its childhood acquisition.
    • The study contributes to the differential diagnosis of treponemal diseases in paleopathological contexts.