US scientists 'knew Guatemala syphilis tests unethical
US government scientists who infected Guatemalans with syphilis and gonorrhoea as part of a study knew they were violating ethical rules, a US presidential panel has said.
The researchers infected hundreds of prisoners, psychiatric patients and sex workers during the 1940s to study the effects of penicillin.
None of the Guatemalans was informed.
But many of the same scientists had sought consent from participants in an earlier study in the US.
Dr Amy Gutmann, head of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, called the research a "shameful piece of medical history".
"It is important that we accurately document this clearly unethical historical injustice. We do this to honour the victims," she said in a statement.
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