Papatlaca

Papatlaca is a disease which first occurred in the 10th century when the Maya civilization was collapsing and there was already a massive die-off due to famine. In the next century it spread throughout much mesoamerica. By the 12th century it had also spread to South America.

The first major symptom of papatlaca is uncontrollable shaking of the entire body. Children experience chills and shaking. Adults experience uncontrollable shaking, chills, massive swelling, difficulty breathing, and are unable to eat or drink. Symptoms last from one to four weeks and often proves fatal to adults but not to children. Statistically, the disease is from 20% to 60% fatal in adults, and from 0% to 4% fatal in children aged 4 to 10. The lower mortality rates generally apply when the victim is well cared for, and the higher rates apply when the victim cannot find care. Once someone has survived papatlaca they cannot catch the disease again; they acquire a lifetime immunity.

In sparsely populated regions the disease would come and go in waves over the years and would often prove devastating. It was endemic, however, in densely populated regions, virtually guaranteeing that persons would be exposed to papatlaca in their youth, survive, and become immune to further infection.

Aztec cities were large enough for papatlaca to be endemic. Further, there was a cultural requirement for families in outlying regions to travel to cities for special religious ceremonies. This had the unintended benefit of exposing rural people to the disease in their childhood when the symptoms were relatively mild.

...more to come, but it goes soemthing like this:

- Spanish come to New World,

- Aztecs catch small pox,

- Spanish catch papatlaca,

- Old World and New World suffer a lot,

- Re-contact hesitant, belated, and more equal.