“Now adjust for no resistance and no medical care.”
Maybe a 10% death rate. Medical care in America and Europe was not great before public sanitation and antibiotics. The Aztecs did have herbal meds and antiseptics, surgery etc. They weren’t as primitive as Native Americans.
“Maybe a 10% death rate.”
I disagree. Placed into historical context some bacterial infections had a localized death rate of 100%.
I consider the Black Death as a good comparison of what primitive practices and procedures did to exacerbate illness. Like typhoid (salmonella) Yersinia pestis is a bacteria pathogen where living conditions, customs and underlying health greatly magnified mortality. People who survived the Black Death, such as those Nostradamus nursed, were usually fed a balanced diet, not bled and kept warm. In some cases of high mortality the common responses were to bleed the patient, place them outside, bathe them in ice water, inhale incense or smoke, etc.
The absence of modern resources is what caused great mortality imo. Historical death rates are chiefly the product of living conditions, diet and medical treatment more than the strength of the bacteria. Many of the plagues occurred during times of bad harvests where food was scarce. People already week from hunger were often denied food once sick (saved for the living).