The major epidemics that marked history

The globalized version of the pandemic Epidemic It is characterized by rapid spread and high mortality. Posted by Virus or bacteria Unknown in their time, these epidemics killed millions of people and marked human history.

Plague of Athena (-430 to -426 BC)

Firstly Epidemic Documented history, and On Athena, in fact, may be due to a Fever Thyroid. Described by the historian Thucydides, while he himself is ill, the disease manifests itself in a high fever, DiarrheaAnd redness and cramps. Coming from Ethiopia, it strikes Egypt and Libya, then arrives at Athens at the time of the siege of the city of Sparta, during The Peloponnesian War. It is estimated that a third of the city, or 200,000 residents, will die during this pandemic that will mark the beginning of Athens’ decline.

Antonine plague (165-166)

Here again, this epidemic is not due to the plague but because of smallpox. It took its name from the Antonine dynasty, from which came the emperor Marcus Aurelius, who then ruled the Roman Empire. The epidemic began at the end of the year 165 in Mesopotamia, during the war against the Parthians, and reached Rome in less than a year. It is estimated that it caused 10 million deaths between 166 and 189, resulting in significant impairment Roman population. Smallpox: caused by a virus and characterized by it Peels Erysipelas, diarrhea, and vomiting were declared eliminated in 1980.

Black Fish (1347-1352)

After a raging in China, On Lions arrive in 1346 in Central Asia, between the Mongolian forces besieging the port of Kava, on the Black Sea, under the control of Genoese merchants. The disease manifested terrible bubonsThen it spread to North Africa and then to Italy and France, where it arrived through the port of Marseille via Genoa ships. It is estimated that this epidemic, also known as the “Great Plague,” killed between 25 and 40 million people in Europe, or between a third and a half of its population at the time.

Spanish flu (1918-1919)

Caused by a very dangerous type A H1N1 virus, Spanish flu He is actually of Asian descent. Then it reached the United States, and then crossed the Atlantic Ocean by the soldiers who came to help France. If it qualifies as flu Spanish, because the country, which is not subject to censorship and war, publishes the first disturbing news. When she died in April 1919, the results were horrific. The Spanish flu has killed between 20 to 30 million people in Europe and as many as 50 million globally, and almost no region in the world is spared. It is estimated that a third of the world’s pollution has been infected.

Cholera (1926-1832)

Endemic to the Ganges river delta in India for centuries cholera Russia gains in 1930, then Poland and Berlin. He landed in France in March 1832 via the port of Calais, and then arrived in Paris. It is also manifested by diarrhea and sudden vomiting cholera (The cause of which we don’t know, the bacteria Vibrio cholerae) Results in drying Fast, sometimes fatal within hours. The pandemic will cause nearly 100,000 deaths in less than six months in France, including 20,000 in Paris. Then you will reach Quebec via Irish immigrants, where you will wreak havoc.

Asian flu (1956-1957)

Linked to Influenza virus H2N2, the 1956 influenza pandemic is the second deadliest influenza pandemic after 1918. It will cause between two and three million deaths worldwide, including 100,000 in France, or 20 times more than one. Seasonal flu classic. Starting in China (hence its name), the virus spread to Hong Kong, Singapore, and Borneo, then Australia and North America before hitting Europe and Africa. In a few years, it will turn to H3N2 to cause a new pandemic in 1968-1969, which is called “Hong Kong Flu”. The latter will mark the debut Flu vaccines effective.

AIDS (1981 – present)

Originally from Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Your page virus It came to light in 1981, when the Atlanta Epidemiological Agency, in the United States, warned of unusual cases of polycystic lung (a Pneumonia Rare in immunosuppressed patients). The VIH It was not recognized until two years later, in 1983, by a team of researchers from the Pasteur Institute led Luc Montagnier. At the height of the epidemic, in the first decade of this century, two million people died from the virus each year. 36.9 million patients now live with HIV, but the cure Antiretrovirals Significantly lowering the death rate.