Despite their disagreements on the precise definition of “pandemic,” scientists and medical experts may agree on one point. Pandemics bring about a great deal of agony and death. Over the years, there have been a lot of above-average illness outbreaks in the world. Flu, smallpox, bubonic plague, and cholera are a few of the most heinous killers in recorded history. This article examines 10 of the Worst Pandemics to have ever wreaked havoc on the planet.
10. Russian Plague (1770 to 1772)
The social and political fabric of Moscow was severely damaged by the Russian plague. Violence was so commonplace in the city that Catherine the Great ordered the removal of all factories. The city descended into a state of terror-fueled chaos. Over 100,000 people had died by the end.
9. Philadelphia Yellow Fever Epidemic (1793)
Philadelphia experienced a yellow fever outbreak in 1793 while serving as the US capital. It was spread by mosquitoes, which were proliferating in greater numbers in Philadelphia at this time due to the region’s unusually hot and humid conditions. Even though the epidemic ended because the mosquito population dropped off during the winter, it had already taken more than 5,000 lives.
8. American Polio Epidemic (1916)
New York City saw the start of the American polio epidemic, which resulted in over 6,000 fatalities and 27,000 infections nationwide. Unvaccinated youngsters are primarily affected by polio, which frequently leaves survivors with disabling, life-altering conditions. In 1954, the Salk vaccine was created after the disease had spread sporadically over the nation. Since then, there have been fewer cases; the final US instance was documented in 1979. This is primarily because of extensive vaccination.
7. Spanish Flu (1918 to 1920)
The first influenza pandemic to wrack the globe in the 20th century was the Spanish flu. It was brought on by an H1NI flu with avian roots, and it started to spread between 1918 and 1919. The Spanish flu virus was the most severe of the three, despite the fact that scientists and historians remain dubious of its origin. The CDC estimates that it infected over 500 million individuals and killed over 50 million people worldwide. In the US, there were almost 675,000 fatalities. Additionally, there were numerous diseases in the South and North Seas that nearly wiped out some indigenous tribes.
6. Asian Flu (1957 to 1958)
The 1968 flu pandemic is thought to have been caused by the Asian Flu, which we have already mentioned and which also has Chinese origins. It was brought on by a confluence of avian flu viruses and resulted in approximately 1.1 million deaths worldwide and 116,000 in the US. The CDC claims that the virus spread quickly, first showing up in Singapore in February 1957, Hong Kong in April of that same year, and a coastal US city by summer.
5. Flu Pandemic (1968)
The 1968 flu pandemic, also referred to as the Hong Kong Flu, started in China. Encyclopaedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/event/1968-flu-pandemic) claims that the H3N2, an influenza A virus, was the source of the first case to be reported in this country in July 1968. The third flu pandemic to occur in the 20th century, it claimed 1 million lives worldwide. It caused more than 100,000 fatalities in the US. According to scientists, an antigenic change from the 1957 Asian Flu pandemic resulted in the 1968 strain. You can only contract the sickness once because of the change.
4. AIDS Pandemic (1981 To Present Day)
Globally, AIDS has been responsible for more than 35 million deaths since its discovery. HIV, which causes immunological deficiency illness, is thought to have evolved from a chimpanzee virus in West Africa that infected humans in the 1920s. By the end of the 20th century, AIDS had become so widespread and had cost so many lives that it was regarded as a pandemic. According to the WHO, since the disease’s inception, 79.3 million people worldwide have contracted HIV, and an additional 36.6 million have passed away.
It was estimated that 37.7 million people would still be infected by the virus by the year 2020. According to government statistics, 1.1 million Americans are HIV positive. Medical professionals created medication in the 1990s that enables people with HIV/AIDS to live a normal lifespan and control their symptoms, despite the fact that there is no known cure for the disease.
3. H1N1 Swine Flu (2009 to 2010)
The 2009 swine flu pandemic was brought on by a novel H1N1 strain that has its roots in Mexico. Over 1.4 billion infections were caused globally in one year as a result of it starting here and quickly spreading to the rest of the world. Overall, the pandemic killed between 151,700 and 575,400 people, mostly children and young adults. Since most flu strains cause more mortality in persons 65 and older, this was unprecedented. The annual flu vaccine now includes a vaccine against the H1NI1 virus.
2. West African Ebola Epidemic (2014 to 2016)
In West Africa, there were recorded 28,600 cases of Ebola between 2014 and 2016, coupled with 11,325 fatalities. Before the illness rapidly spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia, the first case was discovered in Guinea in December 2013. Although some infections were documented in Europe, the US, Senegal, Mali, and Nigeria, the majority of cases were confined in and around these three nations. Despite the fact that there is presently no known treatment for Ebola, researchers are continuously developing a vaccine.
1. COVID-19 (2019 to Present)
The world’s most recent pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19, began in late December 2019. The WHO had already classified the spread as a pandemic within two months, and numerous nations saw lengthy lockdowns that would only worsen over time. Numerous economies were decimated, many people died as a result of COVID-19, and medical researchers scrambled to discover a treatment. Even though immunizations and other controls have slowed the spread of the virus, it nevertheless exists today.
WHO estimates that 6 million people have passed away from COVID since 2020, while it is unknown how many have passed away from it as opposed to from it. According to Medical News Today, “one or more comorbidities” were present in the majority of COVID fatalities. In essence, even if another sickness was the real cause of death for someone who passed away after testing positive for COVID, their passing is still regarded as a COVID death. In Europe, the death of someone who occurs within 28 days of contracting COVID is actually regarded as a COVID death.
Conclusion
Since ancient times, The Worst Pandemics have wreaked havoc on the globe, frequently with devastating and catastrophic effects. According to specialists, the rate of spread of these diseases has drastically grown as the world becomes more linked. Viruses can now spread at the speed of a jet, according to Amesh A. Adalja, MD, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. In that regard, we’re in greater danger. The quick spread of COVID-19 from Wuhan, China, to the rest of the world in a few of months is evidence of this. The world has thankfully been better protected against the horrors of disease thanks to modern medicine.
