U.S. SYPHILIS STUDY IN GUATEMALA

In 1946, Dr. Cutler began inoculating sex workers in Guatemala with syphilis. The sex workers then had intercourse with Guatemalan soldiers and inmates in the penitentiaries to transmit the disease. Much to his surprise, there was only a 10% transmission rate among these individuals. Since the transmission rate was so low, Dr. Culter developed 3 other modes of inoculation. The most effective mode of transmission was an intracutaneous injection into the prepuce. This is how the majority of subjects were infected. Subjects included soldiers, inmates, and patients in the psychiatric hospital.

Of the people who were infected, only some of them received real treatment while the others were offered no treatment. For a long time, STD’s such as syphilis and gonorrhea had been a problem, especially within the military. Just prior to Cutler’s experiments, it had been tested that penicillin could treat syphilis. Dr. Culter’s rationale for purposefully inoculating these subjects with syphilis was to prove the efficacy of penicillin. These experiments were hidden from the public for almost 60 years, and when brought to light, there was no evidence that the people used for this study were informed or had given their consent. 

After these experiments were made public, President Barack Obama made a call to Guatemalan officials to offer an apology and ask for forgiveness. Apologies were also given to the subjects of the experiments and all those affected by them.

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Sources: 

Cutler, John C. “Records of Dr. John C. Cutler.” National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration (August 2, 2011)

“US apologizes for infecting Guatemalans with STDs in the 1940s.” CNN Wire Staff. October 1, 2010.

Zenilman, Jonathan M.D. “The Guatemala Sexually Transmitted Disease Studies: What Sexually Transmitted Diseases.” Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Vol. 40, Iss. 4 (April 2013): 277-279.

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