Diseases have existed since the beginning of life. Humans have suffered lots of diseases through time, both those which could not be accounted for because most times in the past, people with harsh diseases were either killed and buried or burnt in mass. We are currently facing one deadly pandemic, although somepeople would claim it isn't so deadly because its mortality rate is less than 1%. This Covid-19 has claimed the lives of over 64k people, that's so much death already. I would say it's still in its mild stages, if a cure is not founded quickly, the death toll could keep increasing on daily basis. Let's look as some deadly pandemic that occurred through history.
Pandemics In History
ANTONINE PLAGUE (165 AD)
This pandemic is said to have affected Egypt, Italy, Greece and part of Asia. It's death toll is estimated to be up to 5 million with no known cause of the disease. Claims have it that the disease was brought to the Roman Empire by soldiers who had just returned from a war with Parthia. They came with the victory and the disease. The disease had the form of small pox and brought so much instability to the Peace of Rome.
Plague of Justinian: A.D. 541-542
These were devastating times when the world was ravaged by a bubonic plaque. Some people estimates it to have killed up to 10% of the world's population. The plaque was named after the Byzantine Emperor, Justin Ian where it claimed the lives of 25 million people. The plaque also spread to the Eastern Mediterranean where it claimed the lives to 5000 people daily.
THE BLACK DEATH (1346-1353)
This disease is said to have started from Asia and travelled through Europe to Africa. It's caused was linked to a bacterial strain called Yersinia pestis which was spread by fleas from rodents that were infected by the bacterial. It is said to have wiped out half od Europe's population and had a total estimated death poll of 200 million people. These were devastating periods and left everywhere it had affected in critical conditions. When it was over, labour became harder to find and this boosted technological innovations to replace the unavailable labour force.
FLU PANDEMIC (1889-1890)
The virus was said to have begun in Russia before it spread rapidly throughout Europe and to the rest of the world. It was said to have been caused by Influenza A virus subtype H2N2. The modern transportation systems and increase in population growth helped the virus spread around the globe rapidly where it claimed the lives of 1million people. Some called it the Russian Flu.
SPANISH FLU PANDEMIC (1918)
This flu is said to have infected over 500 million people around the globe and claimed the lives of 50 million people. Thus was caused by influenza and was distinct from other influenza because it affected both old and young adults and spared only children. Some claims have it that the mortality rate was up to 20% of infected people (100 million deaths). Although the name Spanish flu, the flu did not originate in Spain. The free press in Spain had made it seem so as other Nations had censored their press during the World War 1 periods.
ASIAN FLU (1956-1958)
The Asian flu is said to have originated in China and was caused by Influenza A. The flu had spread through Singapore, Hong Kong and Cities in USA. It is said to have claimed the lives of about 2 million people.
FLU PANDEMIC (1968)
The 1968 flu pandemic was caused by a H3N2 strain of the Influenza A virus. It was said to have started in Hong Kong and was sometimes referred to as the Hong Kong Flu. It later spread rapidly through Singapore to Vietnam. In three months, cases of the virus infection was reported in Autralia, Philippines, India, Europe and also in the United States. It had a low mortality rate of about 0.5% but claimed the lives of 1 million people and cleared close to 15% of Hong Kong's population.
HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC
This had its peak between 2005-2012. It has claimed the lives of about 35 million people since it was discovered. Currently there are about 35 million people living with the virus and it is most common in the sub saharan Africa. During its peak, it had an annual death of 2.2 million around the globe. Since then, treatments have been discovered to help people with the virus live normal lives. There is still no proven cure for the virus, although there are have been numerous claims of the cure being discovered.
The World Isn't Coming to An End
I decided to share this here to to create awareness for people about worse pandemics the world have gone through and still survived it. There have been so many hoax spreading around since the Corona virus became a pandemic. So many people are tensed, restless and in panic. Take a chill pill friends, it's true that this is a very serious issue, but we will survive this. Boost your morales and stay safe, follow all precautionary measures given by WHO and stay indoors, that way, the virus won't be able to spread. Let's all play our part to quench out this virus.
References
10 OF THE WORST PANDEMICS IN HISTORY - MPH ONLINE
20 OF THE WORST PANDEMICS AND EPIDEMICS IN HISTORY - Live Science