The origin of syphilis is perhaps the most debated area of the study of ancient disease. Has it an Old or New World origin?
The idea that Christopher Columbus and his crew brought venereal syphili back from the Americas to the Old World in 1493 AD after voyaging there developed as an explanation for the rise in venereal syphilis documented in historical sources. It was apparently of near-epidemic status around 1500.
There is a suggestion that this could not have developed into epidemic proportions in such a short time. An alternative explanation is that Columbus brought back a more virulent