DNA analyses from a mass grave, dating to the end of the Aztec Empire, shows they died of an epidemic of salmonella. Salmonella enterica Paratyphi C, a pathogen that causes enteric fever, is the likely culprit. This is the first time science has been used to identify the epidemic which the Spanish at the time called “full bloodiness.” Its indigenous name was the cocoliztli epidemic.
The epidemic hit regions of Mexico and Guatemala from 1545-1550, and symptoms included intense fever, pain, vomiting and bleeding from eyes and nose. The death toll is estimated to be between 5 and 15 million Native Americans – that’s up to 80% of a population which had no resistance to this, or a host of other diseases, which had suddenly arrived on their continent.
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