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Epidemics and pandemics with at least 1 million deaths Rank Epidemics/pandemics 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
The history of smallpox extends into pre-history. [1] Genetic evidence suggests that the smallpox virus emerged 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. [ 2 ] Prior to that, similar ancestral viruses circulated, but possibly only in other mammals, and possibly with different symptoms.
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. [7] [11] The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) certified the global eradication of the disease in 1980, [10] making smallpox the only human disease to have been eradicated to date.
The New World of the Western Hemisphere was devastated by the 1775–1782 North American smallpox epidemic. Estimates based on remnant settlements say at least 130,000 people were estimated to have died in the epidemic that started in 1775.
An 1802 cartoon of Edward Jenner's cowpox-derived smallpox vaccine. Diseases and epidemics of the 19th century included long-standing epidemic threats such as smallpox, typhus, yellow fever, and scarlet fever. In addition, cholera emerged as an epidemic threat and spread worldwide in six pandemics in the nineteenth century.
It only took 181 years to eradicate smallpox once we had a way to inoculate against it. That cocktail was the first successful vaccine, and the basis for most future immunizations.And we’re ...
From the 14th century bubonic plague to the more recent emergence of AIDS in the 1980's, Laci breaks down the top 5 deadliest pandemics in human history. Related Gallery: Ebola in 2014 More on AOL:
Smallpox infections spiked in the 1780s and persisted up to the 1837 epidemic. In what is now Canada, the fur trade strengthened communities such as the Mushego Cree , Anishinaabe , and Ottawa . In the United States, the Mandan tribe had previously experienced a major smallpox epidemic in 1780–1781, which severely reduced their numbers to ...