title: Bejel: acquirable only in childhood?
abstract: Bejel clearly has a long history in the Middle East and the Sudan, but was it transmitted to Europe? As the major manifestation of bejel is presence of periosteal reaction in 20-40% of afflicted populations, absence of significant population frequency of periosteal reaction in Europe would exclude that diagnosis. Examination of skeletal populations from continental Europe revealed no significant periosteal reaction at the time of and immediately subsequent to the Crusades. Thus, there is no evidence for bejel in Europe, in spite of clear contact (the mechanism of bejel transmission in children) between warring groups, at least during the Crusades. This supports the hypothesis that bejel is a childhood-acquired disease and apparently cannot be contracted in adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Arthritis Center of Northeast Ohio, 5500 Market Street, Youngstown, OH 44512, USA. bmr@ku.edu
authors.forename: Bruce M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Rothschild
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rothschild
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Naples
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Billard
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Panero
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D001847:Bone Diseases / Q000266:history / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D005060:Europe; D005580:Fossils; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D008877:Middle East; D013397:Sudan; D014208:Treponema / Q000254:growth & development*; D014211:Treponemal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000266:history*