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The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as 50 million people [2] perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. [3] The disease is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and spread by fleas and through the air.
The efforts of the British South Africa Company to stamp out the disease using quarantines, trade bans, and extermination of healthy cattle that came into contact with suspicious herds was the primary cause of the Second Matabele War, in which the spiritual leader of the Northern Ndebele people (Matabele), Mlimo, incited the local population by ...
Disease Death toll Percentage of population lost Years Location 1 Spanish flu: Influenza A/H1N1: 17–100 million 1–5.4% of global population [4] 1918–1920 Worldwide 2 Plague of Justinian: Bubonic plague 15–100 million 25–60% of European population [5] 541–549 North Africa, Europe, and Western Asia 3 HIV/AIDS pandemic: HIV/AIDS
Malaria became widely recognized in ancient Greece by the 4th century BC and is implicated in the decline of many city-state populations. The term μίασμα (Greek for miasma: "stain" or "pollution") was coined by Hippocrates of Kos who used it to describe dangerous fumes from the ground that are transported by winds and can cause serious illnesses.
By the end of the century about 400,000 Europeans were dying from the disease each year. [70] It reached South Africa in 1713, having been carried by ships from India, and in 1789 the disease struck Australia. [70] In the 19th century, smallpox became the single most important cause of death of the Australian Aborigines. [71]
The Tanganyika laughter epidemic of 1962 was an outbreak of mass hysteria—or mass psychogenic illness (MPI)—rumored to have occurred in or near the village of Kashasha on the western coast of Lake Victoria in Tanganyika (which, once united with Zanzibar, became the modern nation of Tanzania) near the border with Uganda.
At least 592 cases were reported after the alert was first raised by Congo's health ministry on Oct. 29. The ministry said the disease had a fatality rate of 6.25%.
Without treatment, the disease is invariably fatal, with progressive mental deterioration leading to coma, systemic organ failure, and death. An untreated infection with T. b. rhodesiense will cause death within months [17] whereas an untreated infection with T. b. gambiense will cause death after several years. [18]