Poty angielskie (sudor anglicus) tajemniczą chorobą zakaźną XV- i XVI-wiecznej Anglii

Abstract

English sweating sickness has been described as one of the black holes in historical epidemiology. It first appeared in England in 1485, at the beginning of Henry VII’s reign, and there were four further outbreaks, in 1508, 1517, 1528 and 1551, before it completely disappeared. It was confined to England, with an exception in 1528–29, when it spread to the European continent, appearing in Hamburg and passing northward to Scandinavia and eastward to Lithuania, Poland, and Russia. Most information concerning sudor anglicus comes from 16th century texts. The disease was fully described by John Caius in his treatise A boke or counseill against the disease commonly called the sweate or sweating sicknesse, first published in 1552. English sweats had a swift course and a sudden onset. The disease usually began with a sense of apprehension, followed by cold shivers, dizziness, headache and severe pains in the neck, shoulders and limbs. The ill suffered from profuse perspiration accompanied by a sense of heat, headache, delirium, rapid pulse, and intense thirst. Sudor anglicus affected mostly affluent, young men rather than women or children. In the 20th century a number of theories concerning sweating sickness were presented. It has been suggested that it might have been influenza, relapsing fever, food poisoning or a type of Ebola virus disease. Some think English sweats were caused by an enterovirus, arbovirus or anthrax.