Salmonella Strain May Have Caused 16th-Century Mexican 'Bleeding' Epidemic

A fresh DNA analysis hints that a rare variant of Salmonella might have triggered a mysterious plague that decimated millions in 16th-century Mexico. This finding provides the strongest indication yet of the origin of a catastrophic infection that claimed up to 80 percent of Mexico’s indigenous inhabitants between 1545 and 1550, spreading into Guatemala and potentially reaching as far south as Peru.

At the time, this illness was unlike anything previously encountered: victims suffered from facial hemorrhaging. Historical medical records depict piles of dead bodies and individuals covered in rashes, with blood streaming from their noses. Indigenous communities referred to it as “huey cocoliztli,” meaning great pestilence. Spanish colonizers called it “pujamiento de sangre,” which translates to abundant bleeding…

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