Historical pandemics

Pandemic is a type of epidemic that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population. Throughout the history of mankind, there have been many pandemics including Plague, cholera, smallpox and influenza that have cost millions of lives. These are diseases that seem trivial but are the most brutal diseases in human history. Particularly, smallpox has killed 30 million people in the entire history of humankind, which is more than lives claimed in World War 2.

First Pandemic (165 AD), Number of Deaths: 5 million

The disease is also known as Antonine Plague. The cause and cure of the disease still remain unknown. This disease affected Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece and Italy. It’s an ancient epidemic brought to Roman Empire by troops returning from campaigns in the Near East.

Second Pandemic (541-542 AD), Number of Deaths: 25 million

The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Eastern Roman Empire as well as Sasanian Empire and port cities around the entire Mediterranean Sea. This outbreak is generally regarded as the first recorded event of the plague that caused more than 25 million lives.

Third Pandemic (1346-1353), Number of Deaths: 200 million

This pandemic is known as Black Death. The pandemic traveled from Asia to Europe and claimed the lives of almost 200 million people. This disease was usually spread by infected rodents and wild squirrels and then easily transmitted from person to person. Humanity has never suffered from such a disaster that resulted from this disease.

Fourth Pandemic (1852-1860), Number of Death: 1 million

The third major pandemic of cholera spread in the nineteenth century, which lasted from 1852 to 1860. Cholera is generally considered to be the most deadly of the 7 pandemic diseases. Like the first and second outbreaks, the third cholera outbreak was originated in India. The pandemic killed over 1 million people in Asia, Europe, North America and Africa. ۔ British physician John Snow eventually manages to prove the source of the disease’s transmission from contaminated water.

Fifth Pandemic (1889-1890), Number of Deaths: 1 million

The 1889–1890 flu pandemic, better known as the “Asiatic flu” or “Russian flu” was a deadly influenza pandemic that killed about 1 million people worldwide. In 1889, the first cases were seen in three separate and remote locations in Central Asia (Bukhara), northwestern Canada and Greenland. This was the last great pandemic of 19^th century.

Sixth Pandemic (1918-1920), Number of Deaths: 50 million

This pandemic is also spread in Spanish flu. Between 1918 and 1920, influenza spread alarmingly throughout the world, affecting one-third of the world’s population and ending the lives of 20 to 50 million people. The disease was spread in Spain and most of the victims were young people.

Seventh Pandemic (1956-1958), Number of Deaths: 2 million

The outbreak of influenza was originated in China in 1956 and continued until 1958. The Asian flu travels from the Chinese province of Guizhou to Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 2.5 million people died from Asian flu.

Eight Pandemic (1968), Number of Deaths: 1 million

This pandemic is also known as 1968 flu pandemic or Hong Kong flu. The first case of this outbreak was reported in Hong Kong on July 13, 1968. The disease was spread in Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Australia, Europe and the United States.

Ninth Pandemic (1800-1900)

Surprisingly, smallpox is a three thousand years old disease. History shows the first recorded confirmed in the 18^th Century. Children were mostly affected by the disease. Smallpox spread in 1950 terribly and claimed lives of more than 20 million people. In this disease, the initial symptoms were skin rashes, fever, and vomiting with a thirty percent risk of dying. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) certified the global eradication of the disease in 1980.

Tenth Pandemic (2019-continue), Number of Deaths: 34 thousand so far

In 2019, coronavirus was first reported in Chinese city of Wuhan and has now spread in almost every country of the world. WHO has termed it as a global pandemic and also named it COVID-19. So far, coronavirus has claimed lives of more than 34,000 people and has affected more than 700,000 people around the world.