I wonder if malaria was really unexpected, since parts of Europe were malarious, too. In Italy about one third of the country was affected[0]. Even Switzerland

I wonder if malaria was really unexpected, since parts of Europe were malarious, too. In Italy about one third of the country was affected[0]. Even Switzerland had serious problems with malaria, especially near the Lake of Bienne, because the alluvial sands caused the Aare river to repeatedly flood the plains between Murten and Solothurn, turning agricultural land into marsh[1]. [0]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3340992/figure/f1-mjhid-4-1-e2012016/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3340992/figure/... [1]: https://www.bernerzeitung.ch/region/bern/Als-der-Aareteufel-gebaendigt-wurde/story/30406798 https://www.bernerzeitung.ch/region/bern/Als-der-Aareteufel-... (German)