First, off, the elves never get sick. It’s one of the benefits of being an elf (they can, however, be affected by strong poisons.) So, when discussing illness in Middle Earth, keep in mind that these illnesses would only affect mortals. (Also, for a related post, check out Medicine in Middle Earth.)
We get the feeling that illnesses and diseases must occur (first of all, why mention that elves are immune, if there’s nothing to be immune from. Also, the existence of the Houses of Healing in Minas Tirith suggests that, even in peace-time, there was healing to be done), but we actually hear very little about medical issues. During war, infection and poison are an issue, but “natural” illnesses are almost never mentioned. In fact, I can only think of two at the moment. At the end of The Hobbit, it’s mentioned in passing that Bilbo had a cold (so, apparently even in Middle Earth, we can’t get rid of the common cold.) The second is, in my opinion, much more fascinating.
The Great Plague (or Dark Plague) hit Middle Earth in the year 1635 of the Third Age. Though it was said to come from an “evil wind” in the east, it actually spread from Harad, south of Mordor. It decimated the populations of Gondor, Rhovanion, and Minhiriath, as well as affecting Rhun, Rohan, Enedwaith, Cardolan, and The Shire. The exact number of casualties is unknown but it’s estimated to have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives (including over half the entire population of Rhovanion.) Some of the more “famous” casualties included Telemnar, king of Gondor, and his family, as well as the last remaining Dunedain of Cardolan. The historical and political implications of the plague were huge, but I won’t get in to them here (but just know that they were huge.)
Frustratingly enough, we really don’t know anything about the Great Plague as a disease - we don’t know the symptoms, or how it was treated, etc. But I’d imagine that it probably wasn’t your average plague, and many people believed that it was actually caused by Sauron himself.
SOURCES: LOTR, LOTR Appendices, The Hobbit, The Unfinished Tales (“Cirion and Eorl”)
((The map is an excerpt from Karen Wynn Fonstad’s Atlas of Middle Earth, and shows which areas of Middle Earth were most affected by the Great Plague.))
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