Originally Posted by Shadowborn

That was a hypothesis put forward in the past, however given that the rye was stored in communal granaries the...outbursts, would have been more uniform and widespread amongst the town's population. Encehpalitis spread by mosquito tends to fit the terrain; the people who were suffering the symptoms were predominantly from the poorer areas, closer to marshland and thus, mosquitos.

Her book is called A Fever in Salem. It's very interesting reading.