Cocoliztli
A series of epidemics throughout what’s now Mexico devastated the native Aztec population in the 16th century, killing millions every time it arrived. The outbreaks weren’t attributed to other well-known diseases at the time, such as smallpox, but came to be locally known as “cocoliztli”—roughly translated in English to “pestilence.”
Those with cocoliztli would develop symptoms like headaches, jaundice, fever, excruciating pain around their chest, and bleeding from their eyes and ears. These symptoms lend support to a theory that an unknown viral hemorrhagic fever, similar to Ebola, was the cause of cocoliztli. In 2018, though, a group of scientists unearthed another possible culprit by studying DNA left behind on the teeth of 11 victims in the area. They found a species of salmonella bacteria called Salmonella enterica. But for now, the culprit is still being debated.
