The Cause of a Mysterious Sweating Disease that claimed the lives of thousands is still unknown

In 1485 a mysterious disease broke out in England causing people to sweat to death in a matter of hours. It was dubbed “Sweating Sickness” and is also known as “English Sweating Sickness” and “English Sweate.” The disease worked quickly and would often kill its victims in a matter of hours. Thousands died in the initial outbreak.

The disease spread to Ireland and across England and recurred several times during the rest of the century. Interestingly, it did not attack infants and young children. The extreme and fourth occurrence of Sweating Sickness broke out in England in 1528. It quickly spread across the country, to Scotland and Ireland and across the rest of Europe. Within a few weeks, more than one thousand people had perished. By the end of the year, however, the disease had vanished.

The final outbreak occurred in England in 1551. To this day, the cause of Sweating Sickness is still unknown. Most researchers blame the poor sanitation, sewage and contaminated water supplies of the time period for helping spread the disease. Other theories have been presented, but no conclusion has been reached.

Nutty News Today - Nutty News Videos - Today’s Nutty Joke - Nutty Facts - Nutty News Facebook Fan Page - Nutty News Marketplace - Subscribe: Nutty News posts by email