An Age-Old Disease
Ergotism is thousands of years old and it happens when people eat contaminated rye and other cereals. One of the worst outbreaks in France broke out in Limoges and killed 20,000 to 50,000 humans. People have become very careful at making bread since then, making the epidemic something that caught the village by surprise and made them helpless. What happened in Pont-Saint-Esprit was a shock to the villagers, and has sadly, and gravely, affected lives forever.
