8 most massive deadly epidemics in human history

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

When the end of the world is depicted in science fiction films or books, then one of its signs is necessarily massive epidemic, or pandemic … In the history of mankind, there have been so many cases when diseases took millions of lives that people began to believe that the end of the world was really close. Cholera, plague, smallpox, AIDS - unfortunately, one cannot say that these epidemics are in the distant past and no longer pose a threat. In our review - the deadliest of all epidemics.

The reason for the depopulation of Europeans in the 14th century was the bubonic plague, or "black death". She claimed the lives of about 75 million people, a third of the population of Europe. Plague devastated entire cities. It was carried by rat fleas and ticks. Doctors had to work at risk to their own lives. They wore special uniforms made of fabric soaked in wax and masks with long beaks, which contained aromatic substances that supposedly prevent infection and mask the smell of decaying bodies. Up to the 19th century. this terrible disease practically did not respond to treatment.

Smallpox was one of the most dangerous killers in human history. In the 8th century. smallpox killed 30% of the Japanese population. This disease led to the depopulation of North and South America as a result of European colonization, and only in the twentieth century. claimed from 300 to 500 million lives. Smallpox vaccinations began around the world in 1950.

Measles is a viral disease that continues to claim lives today. She destroyed the Inca civilization and made vast territories of Central and South America deserted. The total death toll from measles is more than 200 million.

Cholera is a real scourge of dirty cities and countries. In the 19th century. she claimed 15 million lives. The main vector of the disease was faecal contaminated water. With proper sanitation and disinfection, disease can be controlled.

Between 1918 and 1920 an epidemic of the H1N1 influenza virus has spread across the globe. In just 2 months, the Spanish woman claimed 20 million lives, and the total death toll was between 50 and 100 million people worldwide. The pandemic was global in nature, infecting even people on islands in the Pacific.

Malaria has been a direct threat to humans since ancient times - Pharaoh Tutankhamun died from it. Although it is now limited to the tropical and subtropical regions of the planet, it was once common in Europe and North America. There are between 300 million and 500 million cases of malaria each year worldwide. The infection is transmitted through mosquito bites.

Many epidemics have all but disappeared thanks to modern medicine. But this, unfortunately, cannot be said about tuberculosis. It survived in Egyptian mummies thousands of years later. And in the twentieth century. more than 100 million people have died from this disease. First of all, this is the problem of densely populated megacities and developing countries, although there are cases of the disease all over the world.

AIDS is called the plague of the 20th century. 34 million people in the world are HIV-infected, 30 million have died, and this is only official statistics.

Many of these tragic events have been documented by photographers, such as the Flash of the Spanish Woman and others. 10 historical photographs that capture the darkest pages of history