Sickness
Sickness is an in-game element in Doubutsu no Mori e+, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Animal Crossing: City Folk and Animal Crossing: New Leaf that can afflict villagers. Villagers can become sick, which causes them to shiver (and sometimes show the 'depressed' emotion) and stay in their houses.
Treatment
Villagers can gradually be recovered from being sick if they are given medicine by the player. The medicine can be purchased from Tom Nook's shop or the Nookling Stores once a day. Sickness usually lasts for three days if medicine is given every day, but this can vary slightly.
While villagers are sick, they will not react positively and will ask for medicine. Selecting the medicine will not give a positive response if the player has no medicine in their pockets, but will open the pockets if the player does. After receiving medicine, the villager will usually remark on how bad it tasted, or will say that they are starting to feel better, and will thank the player.
Once the sickness has passed, the villager will give the player an item the following day in person (or in a letter) if the player took care of the villager while he or she was sick.
Glitches associated with Sickness
In Animal Crossing: Wild World, a sick villager is instantly healed when the player opens the town gate. In Animal Crossing: City Folk and Animal Crossing: New Leaf, the villager will lock his or her house, leaving a sign saying that he or she is feeling ill.
Trivia
- In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, villagers may inform the player that another villager is sick.
- In Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, sick villagers will appear in the hospital after the player designs the facility.
- In Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo, villagers cannot become sick. The feature was phased out due to a bug with the system where a villager may move away without pinging the player, as being sick interfered with pinging.