Volume 8, Number 4, April 2002

Historical Review

Megadrought and Megadeath in 16th Century Mexico

Rodolfo Acuna-Soto,* David W. Stahle, † Malcolm K. Cleaveland,† and Matthew D. Therrell†
*Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico and †University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA

Figure 1. The 16th-century population collapse in Mexico, based on estimates of Cook and Simpson (1). The 1545 and 1576 cocoliztli epidemics appear to have been hemorrhagic fevers caused by an indigenous viral agent and aggravated by unusual climatic conditions. The Mexican population did not recover to pre-Hispanic levels until the 20th century.

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This page last reviewed June 21, 2002

Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal
National Center for Infectious Diseases
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