Discussions to whether the symptoms described by medieval medical records really were the signs of syphilis. Could Columbus and his crew really have started the spread of the disease in Europe?

Transcript -- What was the Great Pox?

At the end of the 15th century a terrifying new epidemic spread across Europe, but was this disease, known as the Great Pox, really Syphilis? Did Christopher Columbus actually bring the disease back from the New World? Join us as we look at whether the discovery of a 600 year old skeleton can shed new light on the origins of one of mankind's most enduring diseases, which still affects 12 million people every year. This material forms part of The Open University course S320 Infectious disease.

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Transcript -- What was the Great Pox?

Transcript -- What was the Great Pox?

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