Editing Yaws (section)

==History==

{{Multiple image
| width =
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| image1 = J. L. M. Alibert, Description des maladies de la peau. Wellcome L0020973.jpg
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| caption1 = Yaws at the [[Hôpital Saint-Louis]], Paris. Date: 1806
| image2 = Don't show me Yaws.jpg
| alt2 = Outstretched arm with multiple raised pink lesions on its inner side
| caption2 = Page from Surgeon John O'Neill's illustrated journal of diseases on the West Coast of Africa, written during his time on HM Gun Boat ''Decoy''. Colour diagrams showing a "typical case of Framboesia or Yaws". Date: 1874
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Examination of remains of ''[[Homo erectus]]'' from [[Kenya]], which are about 1.6 million years old, has revealed signs typical of yaws. The genetic analysis of the yaws causative bacteria—''Treponema pallidum pertenue''—has led to the conclusion that yaws is the most ancient of the four known ''Treponema'' diseases. All other ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies probably evolved from ''Treponema pallidum pertenue''. Yaws is believed to have originated in tropical areas of Africa and spread to other tropical areas of the world via immigration and the [[history of slavery|slave trade]]. The latter is likely the way it was introduced to [[Europe]] from [[Africa]] in the 15th century. The first unambiguous description of yaws was made by the [[Dutch people|Dutch]] physician [[Willem Piso]]. Yaws was clearly described in 1679 among [[African slaves]] by [[Thomas Sydenham]] in his [[epistle]] on [[venereal diseases]], although he thought that it was the same disease as [[syphilis]]. The causative agent of yaws was discovered in 1905 by [[Aldo Castellani]] in ulcers of patients from [[Ceylon]].<ref name=Mit2013/>

The current English name is believed to be of [[Island Caribs|Carib]] origin, from "yaya", meaning sore.<ref name=MedicineNet>{{cite web |title=Yaws |vauthors=Davis CP, Stoppler MC |publisher=MedicineNet.com |url=https://www.medicinenet.com/yaws/article.htm |access-date=5 August 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008223230/http://www.medicinenet.com/yaws/page4.htm |archive-date=8 October 2012}}</ref>

Towards the end of the Second World War, yaws became widespread in the North of Malaya under Japanese occupation. After the country was liberated, the population was treated for yaws by injections of [[salvarsan]], of which there was a great shortage, so only those with stage 1 were treated.<ref>"All things uncertain: The story of the G.I.S."
by Phyllis Stewart Brown</ref>
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