Toxic oil syndrome

In the early 80s, one region in Spain experienced an epidemic of what seemed to be pneumonia, but with additional symptoms. It was eventually discovered to be a new disease, named toxic oil syndrome (TOS), because it is thought to be caused by consumption of adulterated olive oil. As a result of this disease, in the first two years over 20,000 people were affected and 356 people died. Those still living are at high risk of cardiovascular diseases. Scientists are still unsure of what exactly caused the disease, similar to an autoimmune disorder.