10TO WORST PANDEMICS HIT HUMANITY

WWW.MPHONLINE.ORG Every time the human race is pressed between the a rock and a hard place, that give us a very sporadic moment, an opportunity to reflect on where we come from what we have survived and hopefully a dose of courage to face and tackle the beast ahead. Let’s take a look at where the world’s catastrophic pandemics that have dealt a devastating blow to humanity. Here are the ten worst pandemics to strike the world. These were taken from www.mphonline.org.

10. HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC (AT ITS PEAK, 2005-2012)

Death Toll: 36 million, Cause: HIV/AIDS: First identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976,HIV/AIDS has truly proven itself as a global pandemic, killing more than 36 million people since 1981. Currently, there are between 31 and 35 million people living with HIV, the vast majority of those are in Sub-saharan Africa, where 5% of the population is infected, roughly 21 million people.

09. FLU PANDEMIC (1968)

Death Toll: 1 million, Cause: Influenza. A category 2 Flu pandemic sometimes referred to as “the Hong Kong Flu,” the 1968 flu pandemic was caused by the H3N2 strain of the Influenza A virus, a genetic offshoot of the H2N2 subtype. From the first reported case on July 13, 1968, in Hong Kong, it tookonly 17 days before outbreaks of the virus were reported in Singapore and Vietnam, and within three months had spread to The Philippines.

08. ASIAN FLU (1956-1958)

Death

Toll: 2 million, Cause:

Influenza. Asian-flu was a pandemic outbreak of Influenza A of the H2N2 subtype that originated in China in 1956 and lasted until 1958. In its two-year spree, Asian-flu traveled from the Chinese province of Guizhou to Singapore, Hong Kong, and The United States.

07. FLU PANDEMIC (1918)

Death Toll: 20-50 million, Cause: Influenza. Between 1918 and 1920 a disturbingly deadly outbreak of influenza tore across the globe, infecting over a third of the world’s population and ending the lives of 20 – 50 million people. Of the 500 million people infected in 1918 pandemic, the mortality rate was estimated at 10% to 20%, with up to 25 million deaths in the first 25 weeks alone. What separated it was striking down hardy and completely healthy young adults while leaving children and those with weaker immune systems still alive.

06. SIXTH CHOLERA PANDEMIC (1910-1911)

Death Toll: 800,000+, Cause: Cholera. Like its five previous incarnations, the Sixth Cholera Pandemic originated in India where it killed over 800,000, before spreading to the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia.

The Sixth Cholera Pandemic was also the source of the last American outbreak of Cholera (1910–1911 “Asiatic Flu” or “Russian Flu” as it was called, this strain was thought to be an outbreak of the Influenza A virus subtype H2N2, though recent discoveries have instead found the cause to be the Influenza A virus subtype H3N8. The first cases were observed in May 1889 in three separate and distant locations, Bukhara in Central Asia (Turkestan), Athabasca in North Western Canada, and Greenland. Rapid population growth of the 19th century.

04. THIRD CHOLERA PANDEMIC (1852–1860)

Death Toll: 1 million, Cause: Cholera: Generally considered the most deadly of the seven cholera pandemics, the third major outbreak of Cholera in the 19th century lasted from 1852 to 1860. Like the first and second pandemics, the Third Cholera Pandemic originated in India, spreading from the Ganges River Delta before tearing through Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa and ending the lives of over a million people.

03. THE BLACK DEATH (1346-1353)

Death Toll: 75 – 200 million, Cause: Bubonic Plague. From 1346 to 1353 an outbreak of the Plague ravaged Europe, Africa, and Asia, with an estimated death toll between 75 and 200 million people. Thought to have originated in Asia, the Plague most likely jumped continents via the fleas living on the rats that so frequently lived aboard merchant ships

02. PLAGUE OF JUSTINIAN (541542)

Death Toll: 25 million, Cause: Bubonic Plague, killing an estimated 5,000 people per day. Thought to have killed perhaps half the population of Europe, the Plague of Justinian was an outbreak of the bubonic the plague that afflicted the Byzantine Empire and Mediterranean port cities, killing up to 25 million people in its year-long reign of terror.

01. NTONINE PLAGUE (165 AD)

Death Toll: 5 million, Cause: Unknown. Also known as the Plague of Galen, the Antonine Plague was an ancient pandemic that affected Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece, and Italy and is thought to have been either Smallpox or Measles, though the true cause is still unknown.