When was syphilis first widely reported in Europe?

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Scanning electron micrograph of Treponema pallidum, the spirochete bacterium that is the causative agent of syphilis. — syphilis Scanning electron micrograph of *Treponema pallidum*, the spirochete bacterium that is the causative agent of syphilis.

Syphilis was first widely reported in Europe following the return of Christopher Columbus from the New World. While the exact origins of the disease remain a subject of historical debate, indisputable references to the condition in European literature appeared only after his return.1

During this initial outbreak, the disease was known by several names, such as the "Great Pox" and the "French disease." It is also possible that many cases diagnosed as leprosy in Europe prior to 1500 were, in fact, syphilis, given the similarities in how those cases were described and treated at the time. The modern name for the condition was later coined in 1530 by the Italian physician Girolamo Fracastoro.1