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The death toll from an experimental syphilis infection in Guatemala could reach 2,500 people
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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The number of victims of a medical experiment in which residents of Guatemala were deliberately infected with syphilis and gonorrhea may reach 2,500 people. This is the conclusion reached, as reported by the BBC, by the Guatemalan Medical Association, which is conducting its own investigation into the circumstances of the study, which was conducted in the late 1940s.
On August 30, a commission created at the initiative of US President Barack Obama published preliminary results of the investigation into the Guatemalan study. According to its data, about 1,300 Guatemalans were involved in the experiment – prisoners, the mentally ill, prostitutes, or military personnel.
The American commission members also concluded that the study was conducted with gross violations of both ethical and scientific principles. In particular, its results were never published and did not have any impact on the development of medicine and pharmacology.
The results of the investigation, which is being conducted by Guatemalans in parallel with American experts, indicate that the organizers of the study relied on large-scale support from the Guatemalan authorities.
According to one of the members of the Guatemalan commission, Carlos Mejia, at least nine Guatemalan doctors participated in the experiments. Eight of them have died by now, and the location of the ninth, who must now be over 90 years old, has not yet been determined.