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A hemorrhagic fever, which was called Cocoliztli,

Two epidemics of Cocoliztli, occurring in 1545 and 1576 respectively, killed a total of 13 million people.

Symptoms ranged from headache and fever to dementia, nodule formation, and bleeding from all orifices before eventual death. Interestingly, the more severe symptoms of Cocoliztli only affected the native inhabitants of Mesoamerica;

The causes for the Maya's decline are numerous, but one of the central causes is that the demands they placed upon their environment grew beyond the capacity of the land. At it's peak, there were about 15 million people occupying the Mayan world. Over-population of Mayan metropolises are suspected to have gone beyond levels that the Mayan political and social networks were able to support, resulting in social unrest and revolution. Frequent skirmishes by warring clans, such as the Toltec invasion of Chichen Itza, are suspected to have forced the Mayan populace to flee their cities. Recent studies have discovered evidenc

of severe droughts, deforestation, and a decline in large game animals that began around 800 A.D., coinciding with a sharp drop in new construction. Human bones found from this time show signs of severe malnutrition, which would have been a driving factor behind raids. While Maya civilization did go through a brief renaissance after this period, ongoing environmental constraints played a large role in their eventual decline.

Important pre-travel information for Peru includes advice on preventing high-altitude illness, the risk for cutaneous leishmaniasis in certain jungle areas, use of yellow fever vaccine in some areas, and the risk of malaria for travelers visiting popular jungle lodges.