List Of Pandemics

A pandemic is just the worst circumstance in the world of infectious diseases. When such an outbreak spreads beyond a country's boundaries, the condition is a pandemic. Infectious diseases occurred during the hunter-gatherer era of human history, but the move to rural life 10,000 years ago established societies that made epidemics more likely. During this time, diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, influenza, smallpox, and others arose.

There are numerous pandemics that have occurred in human history; read on to explore those pandemics in detail.

List Of Pandemics

1. COVID-19

After sweeping through 114 nations in three months and infecting over lakhs of individuals, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. It is important to note that even after 2 years spreading has not even come close to being finished. COVID-19 is caused by coronavirus. It is a coronavirus variant that has never been discovered in humans before. Pulmonary issues, fever, cough, and loss of taste and smell are some of the common symptoms which ultimately lead to pneumonia and mortality. It's said to spread through sneezing particles, just like SARS.

2. HIV/AIDS

AIDS was first diagnosed in 1981. It weakens a person's immune system, thus resulting in mortality from illnesses that the body would normally fight off. HIV causes fever, headaches, and swollen lymph nodes in those who are infected. Carriers catch the infection through blood and vaginal fluid. Moreover, the illness kills t-cells in infected individuals. AIDS was initially noticed in gay societies in the United States in the 1920s, although it is said to have originated from a chimpanzee's virus from West Africa.

3. Asian Flu

The Asian flu, which began in Hong Kong and moved throughout China before reaching the United States, became common in England, killing 14,000 people in six months. In early 1958, a second wave struck, killing approximately 1.1 million population throughout the planet and approximately 116,000 only in the United States. The pandemic was effectively controlled due to the development of a vaccine.

4. Spanish Flu

The 1918 flu pandemic was caused by a bird's viral infection that destroyed 50 million individuals throughout the world. It began in Europe, the United States, and portions of Asia before quickly spreading worldwide. There were no effective medicines or vaccinations available at that time to treat this deadly virus variant. The pandemic was named as "Spanish flu"

Hundreds of thousands of Americans had deceased by October 1918, and there was a severe shortage of body storage space. However, by the summer of 1919, most of those infected had gained immunity or had lost their lives.

5. Russian Flu

The first significant flu outbreak started in Siberia and Kazakhstan, then traveled to Poland, Finland, and Moscow, from where it spread throughout Europe. By the next year, it had crossed the Atlantic and was in North America and Africa. 360,000 individuals had died by the end of 1890.

6. Fiji Measles Pandemic

Following Fiji's entry into the British Raj (in 1875), Queen Victoria sent a royal company to Australia as a reward. During the measles outbreak, the royal group carried the infection returning to their island. Moreover, it was carried further by the tribe chiefs and soldiers who dealt with them following their return.

The island was filled with bodies scavenged by wild animals, and the entire communities starved and villages were burnt. In fact, sometimes villages were burnt with the sick stuck inside the fires. Fiji's population was reduced by one-third, as 40,000 people died in this pandemic.

7. The Third Plague Pandemic

The pandemic killed 15 million people, starting in China and spreading to India and Hong Kong. The disease, first transmitted by fleas during or after a mining boom in Yunnan ( during 1855 ), is thought to have played a role in the Parthay and Taiping rebellions. The disease was exploited as a justification for restrictive measures that caused some protest against the British, with India bearing the cost of the casualties. Until 1960, when the number of cases decreased to under a couple hundred, the outbreak was classified as active.

8. First Cholera Pandemic

It was the first of seven cholera pandemics that would occur during the next 150 years. It began in Russia (in 1817), where one million deaths were reported. The infection spread to British troops via feces-infected water and food, which they spread further to India, where thousands more died. Cholera spread over the British Empire as well as its fleet, killing 150,000 people in Italy, Spain, Africa, China, Germany, Japan, Indonesia, and the United States. In 1885, a vaccine was developed, but pandemics persisted.

9. The Great Plague of London

The bubonic plague made yet another terrible impact, killing 20% of London's population. Many cats and dogs were slain as the illness spread via ports along the River, while human death tolls increased and enormous tombs arose for the dead. Simultaneous, when this worst epidemic ended, there was another horrible event that took place i.e., the Great Fire of London, in the fall of 1666.

10. The Black Death

The bubonic plague's second big outbreak originated in Asia and moved west in caravans, killing one-third of the total global population. When plague patients arrived in the port of Messina in 1347 A.D., it entered through Sicily and spread quickly over Europe. Many remains died on the ground, causing a continual odor in cities. The pandemic made England and France so helpless that they declared a cease-fire in their struggle. When the pandemic affected economic conditions and demographics, the British political structure fell.

11. Leprosy

Leprosy became a pandemic in Europe during the Middle Ages (11th century), resulting in the construction of many leprosy-focused clinics to handle many infected patients. Leprosy is a slow-moving bacterial disease that produces sores and abnormalities. It was once thought to be a karmic justice that spread in families, and this view resulted in value judgments and victim isolation. Hansen's syndrome is the modern name for the illness that still impacts tens of thousands of people each and every year. It can be dangerous if not treated immediately.

12. Justinian Plague

The Justinian plague began in Egypt in 541 A.D and expanded into Palestine, the Byzantine Empire, and eventually the Mediterranean. The pandemic altered the empire's destiny, ending Emperor Justinian's ambitions to reconquer the Roman Empire and creating tremendous economic difficulties. Over the next two centuries, outbreaks killed about 50 million people or 26% of the total world's population. It's thought to be the first appearance of the bubonic plague, which caused swollen lymphatic glands in rats and was spread by fleas.

13. Cyprian Plague

The Cyprian plague was first reported in 250 A.D and named after the first reported victim, a Christian bishop from Carthage. He was diagnosed with diarrhea, vomiting, throat ulcers, fever, and gangrene in the hands and feet. To minimize the risk of infection, city populations rushed to the countryside but instead spread the virus further. It may have begun in Ethiopia and traveled across Northern Africa, Rome, Egypt, and northward.

14. Antonine Plague

During 165 A.D, The Huns were the first to be infected with smallpox, and the Antonine plague was possibly an early manifestation of the disease. The Huns subsequently infected the Germans, who infected the Romans, who ultimately spread the disease throughout the Roman empire with returning troops. Sore throat, fever, diarrhea, were some of its common symptoms. Moreover, if the sufferer lived long enough, mucus ulcers were among the symptoms. Emperor Marcus Aurelius was one of the victims of this ailment, which lasted until roughly 180 A.D.

15. Athens

During the Peloponnesian War (430 B.C), the very first pandemic was recorded. The illness spread over Ethiopia, Libya, and Egypt before reaching the Athenian walls when the Spartans attacked the city of Athens. Approximately two-thirds of the people lost their lives during this outbreak. Fever, thirst, red skin, a bloody throat, and tongue and sores were among the indications. The epidemic, which was thought to be typhoid fever, severely debilitated the Athenians and was a major cause of their loss to the Spartans.