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In 1509, the young German soldier Ulrich von Hutten contracted an unknown disease while he was in Italy. The poor died of symptoms caused by the disease. That's how it happened 10 years ago
"(Throughout the body) there are boils, in size and appearance similar to those of an acorn. a stench so nauseating and stinking that the one who feels it, thinks that it is infected.The color of the pustules is dark green, seeing them is worse than feeling the pain that they inflict, even if the sensation is like lengthening on fire. "Such was the patient's description of his illnesses.
It is estimated that during the decade of 1490 the European population recovered from deaths caused by the plague, also known as the Black Death. One in three has died as a result of the disease throughout the continent.
With the increase of the population, prosperity has come. But all was not positive
The war was endemic, famines occurred frequently … and unknown diseases began to appear
The Beginning
At the beginning of 1495, the King of France Charles VIII invaded Naples trying to claim his right to this kingdom.But the troops began to be infected by a new disease
Nobody had not seen anything like it .The doctors of the time found no reference in the old medical books.
This worried the population as much as the HIV when it was discovered in the 80s of the last century.
It had a similarity with This disease: It has been transmitted through badual contact. It was syphilis .
People were terrified because they were spreading very fast. He arrived in Scotland, Hungary and Russia.
With the exception of the elderly and children, everyone was in danger of catching it. It was in the brothel but also in the castle .
It is believed that the Kings Francisco I and Henry III of France, as well as the Emperor Charles V, suffered from the disease. It is believed that neither the monks nor the clerics escaped the contagion.
Hierarchy does not matter. The Cardinals, Bishops and even the Popes Alexander VI and Julius II suffered it.
The speed with which it spreads reveals much about the badual habits of society at that time
History
of course, they Called the Neapolitan disease. But the rest referred to her as the French disease. Initially, it did not have a technical name
Finally, a French doctor suggested to refer to it as " venereal disease " because at that time, it was considered that its main cause was the act of love, in turn, was linked to the goddess Venus.
The epidemic caused by syphilis was different from that seen previously : it was not concentrated in a particular area or station-bound year
Everyone was at risk to get sick. And once that has happened, it seems that the person has never recovered. There was nowhere to escape to be saved.
If the torment was difficult to wear during the day, it was worse at night. Those who suffered it continuously shouted because of the pain they felt in the bones.
Decay of space
What was the cause of the disease? It was thought that it was a punishment of God for sins committed by society.
So the first step in dealing with it was to repent and pray for God's protection.
God, however, sent signs of other means Astrologers of the time claimed that the thing happened had relation with two eclipses of sun and the with fluencia ] of Saturn and Mars.
"The rains that fell in the year in all the countries were so copious, that the land was contaminated by stagnant water." It was not surprising that the disease had occurred, "said a professor of medicine at the time.
The conjunction of stars contaminated the climate, which in turn caused a poisonous rot of the air. The consequence was the putrefaction of the human body.
Esperanza
It was believed that mercury was the remedy for syphilis. It was common to use it to treat skin problems at that time. And that was the treatment that was recommended to the German soldier. Breathe the hot mercury gas.
But the cure was worse than the disease . The patients salivated uncontrollably, their teeth fell and they lost their reason. However, it has continued to be used for many years, both inside and out.
Until a new remedy appears in 1517: guayaco, a shrub found in Haiti. Reportedly, that was what natives of the island were using.
The trunk chips were simmered in the water and the liquid was drunk twice a day. The complete treatment included spending 30 days in an extremely hot room to sweat and reject the disease.
At the same time, a relationship was established between syphilis and divine punishment for a personal sin and not a collective one. . The person was infected by an unlawful badual relationship.
In this context, women were the ones who transmitted the disease and tried the poor in the manner of Adam and Eve.
Stigma also affected children whose parents suffered from syphilis because it was an inherited disease. Whole generations considered themselves cursed
America or Europe? 19659011] The contemporaries thought that it was a new disease
Once detected that it was transmitted from person to person, it was supposed that it had to come from a particular place, and not because of the weather. 19659003] It was believed that he had arrived in Europe with the sailors who came back from America with Christopher Columbus.
They reportedly arrived in Barcelona, joined the troops in Naples and the prostitutes who followed the army took care of the rest.
But American medical historians did not like this theory, so they presented archeological evidence to prove that syphilis was an old disease originally from Europe that had appeared with a new virulence.
The Remedy
It is unclear whether the debate can be resolved. But there is certainty about certain aspects. The decades before and after the 1500s were great changes in European society.
Urban life, changes and search for places to live, new war techniques and changes in badual behavior.
The environment of the inhabitants from that moment on, it has been constantly modified. And this, in general, increases the incidence of diseases. Thus the emergence of new epidemics was probably inevitable.
Syphilis arrived and remained, extending, especially in time of war.
With the arrival of modern medicine the bacterium that causes the disease was identified in 1905. And in 1910, the first effective treatment was discovered.
But it was only in 1943, with the discovery of penicillin, that the cure was found. 19659003] Cries of the night ceased
