Sweating sickness, also known as the "English sweate" (Lat. sudor anglicus), was a mysterious and highly virulent disease which struck England and later Europe in a series of epidemics, the first beginning in 1485 and the last in 1551, afterwards apparently vanishing. The onset of symptoms was dramatic and sudden, with death often occurring within hours. Its cause remains unknown. Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Year 1485 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar). ... Year 1551 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ...

An unrelated medical condition, hyperhidrosis, is also sometimes known informally as sweating disease. Primary hyperhidrosis is the condition characterized by abnormally increased perspiration, in excess of that required for regulation of body temperature. ...

Repeated epidemics

1485

Sweating sickness first came to the attention of physicians at the very beginning of the reign of Henry VII. It was known, indeed, a few days after the landing of Henry at Milford Haven on 7 August 1485, as there is clear evidence of its being spoken of before the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August. Soon after the arrival of Henry in London on 28 August, it broke out in the capital. There, it killed several thousand people by its conclusion in late October that year.^[1] Among those killed were two lord mayors, six aldermen, and three sheriffs.^[2] This alarming malady soon became known as the sweating-sickness. It was regarded as being quite distinct from the plague, the pestilential fever or other epidemics previously known, not only by the special symptom which gave it its name, but also by its extremely rapid and fatal course. For other uses, see Doctor. ... Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), born Henry Tudor was the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. ... This article is about the town. ... is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1485 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar). ... Combatants King Richard III of England, Yorkist Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, Lancastrian Commanders Richard III of England† Nominally, Richmond in practice, the Earl of Oxford Strength 6,000 (king had 15,500 but Lord Stanley with 4,000 and his brother, Sir William Stanley with 2,500 betrayed; Henry... is the 234th day of the year (235th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Current Lord Mayor of London John Stuttard during the parade on November 11th, 2006 Michael Berry Savory, Previous Lord Mayor (2004–2005) The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the Mayor of the City of London and head of the Corporation of London. ... An alderman is a member of a municipal legislative body in a town or city with many jurisdictions. ... Look up Sheriff in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The bubonic plague or bubonic fever is the best-known variant of the deadly infectious disease caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis. ... In epidemiology, an epidemic (from [[Latin language] epi- upon + demos people) is a disease that appears as new cases in a given human population, during a given period, at a rate that substantially exceeds what is expected, based on recent experience (the number of new cases in the population during...

1507, 1517

From 1485 nothing more was heard of it until 1507, when the second outbreak occurred, which was much less fatal than the first. In 1517 was a third and much more severe epidemic. In Oxford and Cambridge it was frequently fatal, as well as in other towns, where in some cases half the population are said to have perished. There is evidence of this outbreak spreading to Calais and Antwerp, but with these exceptions it did not yet spread beyond England. Year 1485 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar). ... 1507 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1517 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... This article is about the city of Oxford in England. ... This article is about the city in England. ... Calais (Kales in Dutch) is a town in northern France, located at 50°57N 1°52E. It is in the département of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ... For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ...

1528

In 1528 the disease recurred for the fourth time and with great severity. It first showed itself in London at the end of May and speedily spread over the whole of England, though not into Scotland or Ireland. In London the mortality was very great; the court was broken up, and Henry VIII left London, frequently changing his residence. It is believed that Anne Boleyn may have contracted and survived the sickness. The most remarkable fact about this epidemic is that it spread over Europe, suddenly appearing at Hamburg and spreading so rapidly that in a few weeks more than a thousand people died. Thus was the terrible sweating-sickness started on a destructive course, during which it caused fearful mortality throughout Eastern Europe. It spread much in the same way as cholera. It arrived at Switzerland in December, then northwards to Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and then eastwards to Lithuania, Poland and Russia. It never appeared in France or Italy. It also emerged in Belgium and the Netherlands, probably transmitted direct from England as it appeared simultaneously in the cities of Antwerp and Amsterdam on the morning of 27 September. In each place which it infected, it prevailed for a short time, generally not more than a fortnight. By the end of the year it had entirely disappeared, except in eastern Switzerland, where it lingered into the next year. After this, did not re-appear on mainland Europe. The sweating sickness did reach Ireland in 1492 when the Annals of Ulster (vol.iii, ed. B. MacCarthy, Dublin, 185, pp 358f.) record the death of James Fleming, baron of Slane from the pláigh allais, newly come to Ireland. The Annals of Connacht (ed. A.M.Freeman, Dublin, 1944, pp 594f.) also record this obit, and the Annals of the Four Masters (vol.iii, ed. J.O'Donovan, Dublin, 1856, pp 1194f. record 'an unusual plague in Meath … of 24 hours' duration; and any one who survived it beyond that period recovered. It did not attack infants or little children.' Note, however, that Freeman in his footnote to AConn. denies that this 'plague' was the Sweating Sickness, in spite of the similarity of the names, but 'Relapsing or Famine Fever', possibly Typhus (but ?). Events June 19 - Battle of Landriano - A French army in Italy under Marshal St. ... This article is about the country. ... “Henry VIII” redirects here. ... Anne Boleyn, Queen Consort of England, 1st Marchioness of Pembroke[1] (ca. ... This article is about the city in Germany. ... Cholera (or Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is a severe diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. ... For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The final outbreak

The last major outbreak of the disease occurred in England 1551. An eminent physician, John Caius, wrote an eyewitness account of the disease at this time called A Boke or Counseill Against the Disease Commonly Called the Sweate, or Sweatyng Sicknesse. Year 1551 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... John Caius [Anglice Kees, Keys, etc. ...

Symptoms

The symptoms as described by Caius and others were as follows. The disease began very suddenly with a sense of apprehension, followed by cold shivers (sometimes very violent), giddiness, headache and severe pains in the neck, shoulders and limbs, with great exhaustion. After the cold stage, which might last from half-an-hour to three hours, followed the hot and sweating stage. The characteristic sweat broke out suddenly without any obvious cause. Accompanying the sweat, or after that was poured out, was a sense of heat, headache, delirium, rapid pulse, and intense thirst. Palpitation and pain in the heart were frequent symptoms. No skin eruptions were noted by observers including Caius. In the final stages, there was either general exhaustion and collapse, or an irresistible tendency to sleep, which was thought to be fatal if the patient were permitted to give way to it. One attack did not offer immunity, and some people suffered several bouts before succumbing. This article is about the mental state and medical condition. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Immunity is a medical term that describes a state of having sufficient biological defenses to avoid infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion. ...

The malady was never seen again in England after 1578 although a similar illness, known as the Picardy sweat, occurred in France between 1718 and 1861, but was less likely to be fatal and was accompanied by a rash which was not a feature of the earlier outbreaks. Events January 31 - Battle of Gemblours - Spanish forces under Don John of Austria and Alexander Farnese defeat the Dutch. ... Year 1718 (MDCCXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Cause

The cause is the most mysterious aspect of the disease. Commentators then and now put much blame on the general dirt and sewage of the time which may have harboured the source of infection. The first outbreak at the end of the Wars of the Roses means that it may have been brought over from France by the French mercenaries which Henry VII used to gain the English throne, particularly as they seem to have been immune. The fact that the disease seems to have been more virulent among the rich than the poor suggests why it was judged noteworthy in comparison to the other illnesses of the time. Relapsing fever has been proposed as a possible cause. This disease, which is spread by ticks and lice, occurs most often during the summer months, as did the original sweating sickness. However relapsing fever is marked by a prominent black scab at the site of the tick bite and a subsequent skin rash, whereas contemporaries did not note these relatively obvious symptoms, so the identification is far from certain. More recently, Hantavirus has also been proposed, and appears to be an interesting candidate for consideration in the etiology of this illness.^[3] However, certain clinical features of Hantavirus outbreaks do not seem to match the progression of the sweating sickness; specifically, while Hantavirus has only rarely been observed to be transmitted from one human to another, this is believed to be a significant mode of transmission of the sweating sickness.^[4] While HPS outbreaks share a very similar clinical picture with descriptions of the sweating sickness, a number of questions yet to be answered leave the door open to other theories of etiology. Lancaster York For other uses, see Wars of the Roses (disambiguation). ... Species Andes virus (ANDV) Bayou virus (BAYV) Black Creek Canal virus (BCCV) Cano Delgadito virus (CADV) Choclo virus (CHOV) Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV) Hantaan virus (HTNV) Isla Vista virus (ISLAV) Khabarovsk virus (KHAV) Laguna Negra virus (LANV) Muleshoe virus (MULV) New York virus (NYV) Prospect Hill virus (PHV) Puumala virus... Species see text Hantavirus is one of the four genera of the family Bunyaviridae. ...

See also

• List of natural disasters in the United Kingdom

This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

1. ^ John, Entick (1766). A new and accurate history and survey of London, Westminster, Southwark, and places adjacent, 434, vol. 1. 
2. ^ Harrison, Walter (1775). A new and universal history, description and survey of the cities of London and Westminster, the borough of Southwark, 127. 
3. ^ http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1043971
4. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3874/is_200101/ai_n8939673

Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

External links

• Ask Yahoo -- What exactly was the sweating sickness?
• E. Bridson - "The English 'sweate' (Sudor Anglicus) and Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome" in Br J Biomed Sci. 2001;58(1):1-6.
• Sweating Fever Dr Jim Leavesley commemorates the 500th anniversary of the first outbreak - transcript of talk on Ockham's Razor ABC Radio National