Between 1485 and 1551, there were five outbreaks of this dreaded disease. Several historical records describe the Sweate Sickness, and it was the subject of one of the first books ever printed about disease. It even changed history, taking the life of young Prince Arthur Tudor. After his death, his younger brother Henry the Eighth became King, paving the way for the English Reformation. However, after 66 years, the Sweat disappeared entirely.
History makes no more mention of the disease in England.
Guy Thwaites is convinced that the Sweating Sickness was a Hanta virus. Why the disease disappeared from rural England is still a mystery, but it demonstrates how some viruses may periodically lay dormant before appearing again, sometimes decades later.