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The World’s Deadliest Outbreaks

With Africa reeling from the recent Ebola outbreak, global attention is focused squarely on the danger of an uncontrollable outbreak of disease. In this interactive piece, we look at the world’s deadliest outbreaks, as well as history’s most dangerous diseases.

Use the scroll bar at the top to view the history of outbreaks, or click any of the diseases at the bottom for more info.

Data Sources:

World Health Organisation (WHO)

Center for Disease Control (CDC)

Mayo Clinic | New York Times

The Guardian | BBC

National Center for Biotechnology Information

Wall Street Journal | Wikipedia

CBC | Stanford University

541 – 542: The Plague of Justinian

(Bubonic Plague)

The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Eastern Roman Empire, and has been called one of the greatest plagues in history.

Recent research has confirmed that the pandemic was Yersinia Pestis – the organism responsible for the Bubonic Plague.

Symptoms:

Fever

Headache

Necrosis

Chills

Fatigue

Buboe

Death toll:Unknown, thought to have killed up to 5,000 people a day at the height of the outbreak.

1346 – 1350: ‘Black Death’, the second plague pandemic

(Bubonic Plague)

The second pandemic of the Bubonic Plague was known as the ‘Black Death’, although it was not given this name until after the pandemic had passed.

Without treatment, the Bubonic Plague kills approximately two thirds of infected humans within a period of four days.

Symptoms

Fever

Headache

Necrosis

Chills

Fatigue

Buboe

Death Toll: The Black Death killed between 30% and 70% of the population of Europe

1629 – 1631: The Italian Plague

(Bubonic Plague)

The Italian Plague was the third major outbreak of the Bubonic Plague, spreading throughout Italy for a three year period.

The Italian Plague didn’t spread beyond Italy, but in the three years of the outbreak it killed over a quarter of a million people.

Symptoms

Fever

Headache

Necrosis

Chills

Fatigue

Buboe

Death Toll: The Italian Plague is thought to have killed 280,000 people

1665 – 1666: The Great Plague of London

(Bubonic Plague)

Technically the fifth pandemic of the plague, after an outbreak in Amsterdam two years earlier. The Great Plague of London is famous in British history.

Notable for the sheer number of people that it killed, as the death toll ran into six figures in a one year period in the 1660’s.

Symptoms

Fever

Headache

Necrosis

Chills

Fatigue

Buboe

Death Toll: The Great Plague of London is thought to have killed 100,000 people

1793: Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793

Yellow Fever

The Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793 was the first notable outbreak of Yellow Fever, spreading throughout the United States.

The outbreak killed thousands of people in the US, and continued to see resurgences right through until 1798.

Symptoms

Fever

Bleeding

Seizures

Vomiting

Death Toll: The Yellow Fever epidemic is thought to have killed at least 5,000 people

1816 – 1826: The First Cholera Pandemic

Cholera

The first major pandemic of Cholera – aptly named The First Cholera Pandemic – spread throughout Asia and Europe in 1816.

The pandemic lasted around a decade, and is considered one of the worst in history, with a death toll reaching into six figures.

Symptoms

Fever

Bleeding

Seizures

Vomiting

Death Toll: The First Cholera Epidemic is thought to have killed over 100,000 people

1829 – 1851: The Second Cholera Pandemic

Cholera

The second major pandemic of Cholera – aptly named The Second Cholera Pandemic – spread throughout Asia, Europe and North America in 1829.

The pandemic lasted more than 20 years, and this time spread into North America. Like the first, the death toll reached six figures.

Symptoms

Vomiting

Dehydration

Diarrhoea

Death Toll: The Second Cholera Epidemic is thought to have killed over 100,000 people

1847 – 1848: Typhus Epidemic of 1847

Typhus

The Typhus Epidemic of 1847 was the first major outbreak of typhus, spreading thoughout Canada between 1847 and 1848.

A serious disease causing fever, headaches, rash, vomiting and coughing fits, it killed tens of thousands of people in a one year period.

Symptoms

Fever

Seizures

Vomiting

Skin Rash

Coughing

Death Toll: The Typhus Epidemic of 1847 is thought to have killed more than 20,000 people

1852 – 1860: The Third Cholera Pandemic

Cholera

The third major pandemic of Cholera – aptly named The third Cholera Pandemic – spread throughout Russia in 1852.

The pandemic lasted approximately 8 years, and infected millions of people in Russia, killing at least a million in less than a decade.

Symptoms

Vomiting

Dehydration

Diarrhoea

Death Toll: The Third Cholera Pandemic is thought to have killed 1,000,000 people

1889 – 1890: The 1889 Flu Pandemic

Flu

The first major epidemic of influenza spread right across the world between 1889 and 1890, infecting millions of people.

Without the facilities and knowledge to effectively fight the outbreak, the death toll from the influenza virus reached seven figures.

Symptoms

Fever

Headache

Sneezing

Chills

Fatigue

Sore Throat

Death Toll: The worldwide flu epidemic of 1889 is thought to have killed at least 1,000,000 people

1918 – 1923: The 1918 Flu Pandemic (Spanish Flu)

Spanish Flu

The 1918 Flu Pandemic was a major outbreak and one of the worst influenza pandemics in history, spreading throughout the world.

The death toll from the 1918 pandemic was much higher than the previous outbreak in 1889, killing tens of millions of people.

Symptoms

Fever

Headache

Sneezing

Chills

Fatigue

Sore Throat

Death Toll: The worldwide flu epidemic of 1918 is thought to have killed at least 75,000,000 people

1957 – 1958: Asian Flu

Asian Flu

The Asian Flu epidemic of 1957 was a particularly dangerous strain of influenza, and spread all over the world in 1957.

As with previous influenza outbreaks, the death toll was particularly high, killing millions of people in a 12 month period.

Symptoms

Fever

Headache

Sneezing

Chills

Fatigue

Sore Throat

Death Toll: The worldwide Asian Flu epidemic is thought to have killed at least 2,000,000 people

1968 – 1969: Hong Kong Flu

Hong Kong Flu

The Hong Kong Flu epidemic of 1968 lasted only a year, but managed to spread all over the world in that short pace of time.

In the space of just one year, the death toll from Hong Kong Flu reached seven figures, making it one of the worst outbreaks of influenza in modern history.

Symptoms

Fever

Headache

Sneezing

Chills

Fatigue

Sore Throat

Death Toll: The worldwide Hong Kong Flu epidemic is thought to have killed at least 1,000,000 people

1974: Smallpox Epidemic of India

Smallpox

The Smallpox Epidemic of India in 1974 lasted less than a year, but in that time infected tens of thousands of people.

In less than twelve months, the smallpox epidemic killed thousands of people and left a lasting mark throughout India.

Symptoms

Fever

Headache

Vomiting

Lesions

Fatigue

Diarrhoea

Death Toll: The Smallpox Epidemic of 1974 is thought to have killed at least 15,000 people

2002 – 2003: SARS

SARS

The 2002 outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) started in China and spread throughout Asia in a 12 month period.

China was announced free of SARS by WHO in May 2004, but by then the oubreak had killed well over 700 people.

Symptoms

Fever

Headache

Sneezing

Chills

Fatigue

Sore Throat

Death Toll: The SARS coronavirus killed 775 people throughout Asia

2009 – 2010: 2009 Flu Pandemic

Flu

The 2009 Flu Pandemic – or swine flu – was the second of two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus, albeit a new version.

The virus spread worldwide, and infected tens of thousands of people, killing thousands and affecting countries all over the world.

Symptoms

Fever

Headache

Sneezing

Chills

Fatigue

Sore Throat

Death Toll: The worldwide Flu Pandemic is thought to have killed more than 14,000 people

2014: West Africa Ebola Virus Outbreak

Ebola Virus

2014 has seen the worst outbreak in history of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Click here to see more information about this outbreak.

As of early September 2014, there have been 3,069 confirmed cases, and the outbreak has a mortality rate of around 50%.

Symptoms

Fever

Headache

Bleeding

Weight Loss

Fatigue

Sore Throat

Death Toll: As of early September 2014, the Ebola outbreak has killed 1,552 people

Smallpox

Variola

Smallpox is the deadliest disease in human history.

Some believe that up to 90% of the population of the New World was killed by the disease.

Smallpox is an infectious disease caused by either of two variants, Variola major and Variola minor.

The disease was originally known in English as the ‘pox’ or ‘red plague’, the term ‘smallpox’ was first used in Britain in the 15th Century to distinguish variola from the ‘great pox’ (syphillis). The last naturally occurring case of smallpox was diagnosed on 26 October 1977.

Smallpox is believed to have emerged in human populations about 10,000 BC. The earliest physical evidence of it is probably the pustular rash on the mummified body of Pharaoh Ramses V of Egypt.

The disease killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans annually during the closing years of the 18th Century (including five reigning monarchs), and was responsible for a third of all blindness.

Symptoms

Headache

Fever

Vomiting

Lesions

Diarrhoea

Fatigue

Skin Rash

Death Toll: 500 million

Measles

Morbilli

Measles is the second deadliest disease in human history.

Measles is highly infectious – 90% of people sharing living spaces with an infected person will catch it.

Measles is an infection of the respiratory system, immune system and skin caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Symptoms usually develop 7-14 days (average 10-12) after exposure to an infected person. The course of measles, provided there are no complications, such as bacterial infections, usually lasts about 7-10 days.

Measles is spread through respiration (contact with fluids from an infected person’s nose and mount, either directly or through aerosol transmission), and is highly contagious. An asymptomatic incubation period occurs nine to twelve days from initial exposure. There is a vaccine for measles, with Maurice Hilleman’s vaccine estimated to prevent 1 million deaths every year.

Symptoms

Fever

Sneezing

Red Eyes

Sore Throat

Fatigue

Skin Rash

Death Toll: 200 million

Spanish Flu

H1N1 Influenza

Spanish Flu is the third deadliest disease in human history.

In the 1918 flu pandemic the Spanish Flu killed 3-5% of the world’s population

The worst outbreak of Spanish Flu came in 1918, when it infected 500 million people all over the world, killing approx 75 million of those infected. The outbreak even reached areas such as the Arctic and remote Pacific Islands.

During the outbreak, wartime censors minimized early reports of illness and mortality in Germany, Britain, France and the United States (in order to maintain morale). The papers were free however to report the epidemic’s effects in neutral Spain, creating a false impression that Spain was especially hard hit by the outbreak, and giving rise to the nickname ‘Spanish Flu’.

Theories about the source of the virus vary, but many suggest it originated in Asia, with China being most often cited.

The 1918 outbreak is thought to have begun in France.

Symptoms

Fever

Chills

Headache

Sore Throat

Sneezing

Death Toll: 100 million

Bubonic Plague

Yersinia Pestis

Bubonic Plague is the fourth deadliest disease in human history.

The virus known as the Black Plague, which killed 30-60% of the European population in the 14th Century.

Bubonic plague is a zoonotic disease, circulating mainly in fleas on small rodents. Without treatment, it kills two thirds of infected humans within four days. The bubonic plague is an infection of the lymphatic system, usually resulting from the bite of an infected flea. In very rare circumstances the disease can be transmitted by direct contact with infected tissue or exposure to the cough of another human. The fleas are often found on rats and mice, and seek out other prey when their host dies.

The first recorded epidemic of the bubonic plague ravaged the Byzantine Empire during the sixth century, and was named the Plague of Justinian after Emporer Justinian I, who was infected with the disease but survived through extensive treatment.

Symptoms

Fever

Chills

Necrosis

Buboe

Fatigue

Headache

Death Toll: 75 million

HIV/AIDS

Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

HIV/AIDS is the fifth deadliest disease in human history.

Without treatment, the survival time after initial infection with HIV is estimated to be 9-11 years

HIV/AIDS is a disease of the human immune system caused by infection with human immunodeficiency virus.The term HIV/AIDS represents the entire range of disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus from early infection to late stage symptoms. As the illness progresses, it interferes more and more with the immune system, making a person much more likely to get infections, including opportunistic infections and tumours that do not usually affect people who have working immune systems.

HIV is transmitted primarily via unprotected sexual intercourse, contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic needles, and from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. There is no cure or vaccine; however antiretroviral treatment can slow the course of the disease and may lead to near-normal life expectancy.

Symptoms

Fever

Chills

Lesions

Coughing

Diarrhoea

Fatigue

Weight Loss

Death Toll: 40 million

Typhus

Rickettsia Bacteria

Typhus is the sixth deadliest disease in human history.

Typhus is also known as camp fever, jail fever, hospital fever, ship fever, famine fever and putrid fever.

Typhus is found most frequently during times of war and deprivation. For example, typhus killed hundreds of thousands of prisoners in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. The deteriorating quality of hygiene in camps created conditions where diseases such as typhus flourished. Situations in the 21st Century with potential for a typhus epidemic would include refugee camps during a major famine or natural disaster.

Before a vaccine was developed during World War II, typhus was a devestating disease for humans and has been responsible for a number of epidemics throughout history.

Typhus was one of more than a dozen agents researched by the US as potential biological weapons in the 1960’s.

Symptoms

Fever

Headache

Skin Rash

Vomiting

Coughing

Death Toll: 4 million

