A possible dysentery outbreak in Granada in 1635: demographic verification of historical sources

Abstract

The Spanish 17^th-century writer Henríquez de Jorquera described a possible dysentery outbreak in the city of Granada in 1635. According to the Dupaquier method, applied to a total of 1,529 preserved records of burials, in 1635 there was a mortality crisis that could be traced more locally to just a few parishes. In order to corroborate this scenario, we proceeded to the seasonal study of 919 burial records from several parishes. The results obtained show the presence of a sharp mortality peak in the month of June exclusively affecting the parishes with a water supply depending on the Axaris channel. The conjunction of the water supply conditions and warm temperatures points to a water-borne outbreak that might coincide with the described mortality episode.