syphilis medicines and treatments throughout history
Mercury
The earliest the history of syphilis treatment documentation indicates that syphilis was first diagnosed as a disease in the 1500s. Early treatments prescribed in medieval Europe and the Middle East were some form of mercury, which was commonly used to treat skin diseases and other common ailments. Mercury was administered by ingestion, injection or inhalation. The treatment relieved some of the visible symptoms of the disease but did not address the underlying cause. Mercury is an extremely toxic heavy metal, so in this case, the cure was worse than the disease.
Later Treatment
Mercury reigned as the cure-all for syphilis and other diseases for hundreds of years. In 1904, German researcher Paul Ehrlich and Japanese bacteriologist Sahachiro Hata began experimenting with arsenic-based drugs as a safe and effective treatment for syphilis. They developed the drug arsphenamine and introduced it to the market in 1911 under the name Salvarsan. Ehrlich coined the phrase “magic bullet” to describe what he considered to be his miracle drug, but in reality the drug was toxic, involved painful injections, had a number of unpleasant side effects and only worked on some patients.
Cultural Backlash
Salvarson, while perceived as a miracle cure, was not as well received as might be expected. Many people saw syphilis as divine retribution for wicked ways and used syphilis as an excuse to legislate and control sex. A cure for the disease was unwelcome, since it reduced the consequences of promiscuity. Gauging by the widespread nature of the syphilis epidemic, the rising social insistence on chastity was not altogether successful.
The Real Magic Bullet
In 1928, Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming discovered the bacteria-killing properties of penicillin by accident. He was using several petri dishes containing bacteria cultures and inadvertently left one uncovered. Mold grew in the dish, and Fleming observed that the bacterium around the mold was dying. Fleming was unable to identify the exact substance, which he named “penicillin” after the mold strain, genus Penicillium.
Creating the Cure
British researchers Howard Walter Florey and Ernst Boris Chain furthered penicillin research at Oxford after they found an intriguing article written by Fleming about his work. Using some of Fleming’s original mold samples, they were able to identify and extract penicillin. Animal testing proved that it was nontoxic and an extremely effective antibiotic that did not interfere with the functions of the white blood cells. Since England was at war, Florey took the research to the United States, where he won government funding to develop a penicillin drug. The drug was so successful in human trials that it was available on the market by the early 1940s.
It’s Not Over
The history of syphilis treatment might have ended with the advent of penicillin, but syphilis has made some significant comebacks over the last few decades, the last during the 1980s. The key factor to controlling syphilis is routine testing, but stigma remains an obstacle to having tests done. Today, syphilis is the CDC’s third most reported STD, after gonorrhea and herpes, and averages 1-5 cases for every 100,000 people. However, many people with syphilis have no visible symptoms, and it is suspected that a huge number of cases may go unreported.