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5 Worst ‘PANDEMICS’ in History

By Tavisshi Dhawan -
  • Updated
  • :
  • 17th July 2020,
  • 3:50 PM

PANDEMICS: The 5 most dangerous outbreaks and pandemics throughout our history that changed the course of history.

Worst Pandemics in History (Pic Credit - History.com)

Pandemics: The coronavirus outbreak has caused many deaths. To many, it may be a surprise but a look back through history reveals outbreaks so expansive—so deadly—that they essentially changed the course of history. Below are the five deadliest outbreaks and pandemics in history.

1. The Great Plague of London

The Bubonic plague had first made its appearance in the 14th century as The Black Death, but it surfaced for the second time in London in 1665 for the Great Plague of London. It killed almost 20% of London’s total population. The death toll was so high that mass graves appeared, and thousands of cats and dogs, which were believed to be the cause of the source, were slaughtered. The outbreak eventually tapered off in 1666.

2. The Spanish Flu

The Spanish Flu is regarded as an influenza pandemic that had spread around the world between 1918-1919. The H1N1 virus, having an avian origin, caused it. Though the exact origin of the virus is unclear. The estimates state that about 500 million people (or one-third of the world’s population) became infected with the virus. It ultimately caused at least 50 million deaths worldwide with about 675,000 deaths happening in the U.S.

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3. 1968 Flu Pandemic

The Flu pandemic of 1968 or the Hong Kong flu originated in July during 1968. It was caused by influenza A virus (H3N2) and it was the third pandemic flu outbreak to occur in the 20th century, killing one million people worldwide and about 100,000 people in the US alone.

4. 2009 Flu Pandemic

The most recent flu pandemic in the US, initially known as “swine flu,” occurred in 2009 with a novel influenza virus, H1N1, not previously identified in either animals or humans. The virus was initially detected in the US and spread quickly across the US and the world. Between April 12, 2009 and April 10, 2010, there were 60.8 million cases, 274,304 hospitalizations, and 12,469 deaths (range: 8868-18,306) in the US due to the virus. It is also estimated that up to 575,400 people died worldwide. While the pandemic officially ended on August 10, 2010, the (H1N1) pdm09 virus continues to circulate as a seasonal flu virus, causing illness, hospitalization, and deaths worldwide every year.

5. HIV/AIDS

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were first discovered in the early 1980s. AIDS was first detected in American gay communities but it is thought to have developed from a chimpanzee virus from Africa in the 1920s. As it has grown to pandemic proportions, with 65 million infections and 25 million deaths worldwide. New treatments, however, have allowed more people to live with HIV, and about 1.1 million Americans currently have the disease, according to government data.

The chances of another pandemic are still there. Through a process called “antigenic shift,” in which there are small changes to the genes of a flu virus which can lead to changes in the surface proteins of a virus—HA (hemagglutinin) and NA (neuraminidase)—which trigger the body’s immune response. Ultimately, those antigenic shifts are why people can get the flu more than once, and why a yearly flu vaccine is necessary for the best protection against a virus and its ever-changing nature.

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