An epidemic is a rapid spread of infectious disease to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of time.
Recently Dengue Fever has been declared as epidemic in Delhi, with it having claimed many lives and about 5,982 cases have been reported. Here is a list of such terrible epidemics.
The Black Death (1347-1351)
The bubonic plague had originated around the Black Sea region and spread rapidly through much of Europe and parts of Asia. The four-year spell between 1347 and 1351 wiped out about 2/3rd of Europe’s population. It killed around 100 million people worldwide in 200 years
Small pox (1633-1782)
Smallpox has been around since 10,000 B.C. Although, it is now eradicated, the disease has killed between 400 million to 500 million people and during the 1770s epidemic, it killed more than 145,000 people.
The Plague of Justinian
Plague of Justinian was a disease borne by rats in Egypt around 540 A.D claiming 5,000 lives a day and killed nearly half the ancient metropolis’ population. After 50 years of its outbreak, it had killed 25 to 100 million people
Cholera (1832-1848)
This was one of the worst epidemic which continued for 16 years; started in North America around 1831, and was thought to have come from India, claiming lives of many thousands of people.
The Spanish Influenza (1918-1922)
The Spanish Influenza killed around 20-40 million people worldwide which is even more than the number of people died during World War I. During its initial stage it killed more people in that single year than it killed in the entire four years. In fact, half of the soldiers killed in the war died from the virus itself. The epidemic was so horrific, it caused the life span in the United States to be lowered by 10 years.
Yellow Fever
Yellow Fever spread from person to person through infected mosquitoes and claimed millions of lives and wiped out entire colonies and villages in 1793. It had started when a group of refugees brought it along with them in 1793 while they arrived at the Philadelphia port.
Swine Flu – 2009
Although mainly a human seasonal flu, it is one of the worst infections. It originated in Mexico, and travelled north to the U.S. About 12,000 people died from it in the United States.
By: Archa Dave
