<P> Disease in colonial America that afflicted the early immigrant settlers was a dangerous threat to life . Some of the diseases were new and treatments were ineffective . Malaria was deadly to many new arrivals , especially in the Southern colonies . Of newly arrived able - bodied young men , over one - fourth of the Anglican missionaries died within five years of their arrival in the Carolinas . Mortality was high for infants and small children , especially for diphtheria , smallpox , yellow fever , and malaria . Most sick people turn to local healers , and used folk remedies . Others relied upon the minister - physicians , barber - surgeons , apothecaries , midwives , and ministers ; a few used colonial physicians trained either in Britain , or an apprenticeship in the colonies . One common treatment was blood letting . The method was crude due to a lack of knowledge about infection and disease among medical practitioners . There was little government control , regulation of medical care , or attention to public health . By the 18th century , Colonial physicians , following the models in England and Scotland , introduced modern medicine to the cities in the 18th century , and made some advances in vaccination , pathology , anatomy and pharmacology . </P>
why did disease and death spread early in jamestown
the diseases were new treatments were ineffective