Warning: the following blog may be disturbing.
Throughout history, we have heard of many inhumane scientific studies such as The Little Albert Experiment, The Milgram Experiment, and The Stanford Prison Experiment. One event in history that you may not have heard about is The Guatemala Sexually Transmitted Diseases Experiment that took place from 1946 to 1948. These experiments were conducted majorly by the US Public Health Service in Guatemala and were hidden for almost 60 years until a historian, Dr Susan Reverby, at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, discovered the studies while researching the Tuskegee studies of untreated syphilis (Zenilman, 2013). One of the main sexually transmitted infections that was being researched in Guatemala was also syphilis.
Syphilis is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection that if left untreated can cause serious health issue (Syphilis, n.d.) One of the serious health issues that syphilis can cause is meningovascular syphilis, which can occur within the first few months after infection. Symptoms of meningovascular syphilis include headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, loss of vision or hearing, and stroke. During the Guatemala syphilis experiments, one of the physician's (whom I will not name) goals was to establish a human experimental model of secondary syphilis. Secondary syphilis being syphilis that has spread throughout the body, possibly turning into meningovascular syphilis. This was attempted through an injection of syphilis directly into the cerebrospinal fluid of participants. The majority of participants being mental patients, prisoners, Guatemalan Indians, and orphans. If one of the participants were to develop meningovascular syphilis, the syphilis bacteria would invade the brain and spinal cord through the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) causing inflammation of the meninges arterial walls thus causing thrombosis and stroke (Neurosyphilis, n.d.).
Overall, 1,308 participants were enrolled in these studies. Although the physician who conducted these studies claimed that every participant was later treated for the infection, documentation found that only 678 participants (52%) were treated (Zenilman, 2013). Studies such as the one described do not serve any purpose other than to show us how twisted and horrible scientific studies can be if we do not take ethics into consideration. For the Guatemala studies mentioned, there was physical evidence that the physician's involved knew this was inhumane and wanted to keep these studies hidden. Had it not been for Dr Susan Reverby, these documents may have never been discovered. Although in 2010 President Barack Obama issued a public apology to the country of Guatemala, and deemed these studies "Ethically Impossible" it does not take away from the fact that these studies should have not been conducted in the first place. Ultimately, the Guatemala syphilis studies were inconclusive and did not produce any useful medical information.
This study is heartbreaking, especially now that I’ve had the privilege of meeting Guatemala's incredibly kind and resilient people. In the U.S., we are taught about the importance of ethics in science, usually taking multiple courses on the topic. It’s jarring to realize this is not upheld worldwide. The pain and marginalization that the Guatemalan people have endured throughout history make it all the more devastating—particularly knowing that some of this history was deliberately hidden, and there is likely more dark history yet to be uncovered. The more I learn about these experiments, the more I am struck by the stark contrast between the kindness of the people I’ve met and the suffering they’ve been subjected to in the name of science. It's a painful reminder that while we may study ethics, the reality is that unethical practices have harmed vulnerable populations and we have to do our best to support them.
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