what was the sweating sickness

The sweating sickness was a mysterious and highly contagious disease that struck England and later continental Europe in a series of epidemics beginning in 1485. The disease was characterized by fever, profuse sweating, and high mortality rates, with death often occurring within hours of the onset of symptoms. The disease tended to occur during the summer and early autumn, and heavily affected rural populations. The relatively affluent male adult population, particularly the clergy, seemed to suffer the highest attack rates, and except in one epidemic, the disease appears to have attacked only individuals native to England. The sweating sickness disappeared by late Elizabethan times, and its cause remains unknown, although it has been suggested that an unknown species of hantavirus was responsible. The symptoms recorded at the time included a sense of apprehension, followed by cold shivers, dizziness, headache, severe pains in the neck, shoulders, and limbs, and great exhaustion. The sweating sickness sent Henry VIII into a spin, and he promptly quit London and took off for the sweeter, safer air of the country in the hopes of lessening his exposure to the disease.