Now that we're out of the pandemic, let's talk about other times an illness has knocked the
United States on its backside. And yes, covid is still with us but it's no longer at the level to
be considered a pandemic or an epidemic. Here's the definition of epidemic an epidemic is defined
as a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time
pandemic is the same thing but it has to include an entire country or the world it's how kovid
became a pandemic the United States like most countries have had an epidemic in their history
some have been barely noticeable While others have really done some damage to the United States what
we're looking at today is the worst epidemics in U.S history now we're doing this list by dates
and not by like the body count or something in the early days they really didn't have quality
data so we'll just list them by their date got it get it good let's take a look number 10 smallpox
1633-1634 4. now smallpox had been around for a very long time it's a variola virus they have
evidence that it wiped out entire Societies in ancient Egypt the Vikings It's Been Everywhere
on the planet and in the 1600s it pretty much did a number on the United States now here's an
interesting fact I learned about it when they first found out about vaccinating against this
it was a Buddhist monk notice that people that had been infected and survived could help the
people that were getting it and they wouldn't get reinfected so they would take samples from
other people that were infected and blow it into people's noses of all things as an inoculation and
it worked back then about 30 percent of the people that got smallpox would die within the first two
weeks the inoculation had gotten them down to about three percent they figure now the first
recorded cases of smallpox in the United States was back in 1633 they're not sure how many people
it killed but they know it moved on to the Native American population and basically ravage their
population well it went away then a British sailor disembarking the HMS seahorse brought smallpox to
Boston in 1721 causing more than 6 000 cases at the time Boston only had a population of about 11
000. they have 850 confirmed deaths from smallpox back then now it is just destroyed
parts of the world at different times during the 18th century the disease killed an estimated 400
000 Europeans each year including five reigning monarchs it was also responsible for about a
third of all blindness in 1770 Edward Jenner developed a vaccine from cowpox which helped
the body become immune to smallpox without causing the disease after a large vaccination
initiative in 1972 smallpox is gone from the U.S and the vaccines are no longer needed a
piece of advice if you want to look up smallpox and you've never seen what it looks like don't
it's it's I'll warn you right now it's disturbing if you're someone that's not squeamish go ahead
number nine yellow fever yellow fever's been around since forever they're really not sure
when it first showed up but the first definitive outbreak of yellow fever in the new world was
in 1647 on the island of Barbados now it goes by different names it's also called the yellow plague
or yellow jacket and it is spread by infected mosquitoes they found when they control mosquitoes
the disease goes away or at least is manageable the 1793 epidemic was brutal refugees fleeing the
yellow fever epidemic in the Caribbean islands sailed to Philadelphia carrying the virus with
them yellow fever killed an estimated 5 000 people in Philadelphia at the time Philly was the capital
of the U.S so the national government fled to the city of Trenton New Jersey including President
George Washington that wasn't our first run-in with yellow fever New Orleans and Shreveport
Louisiana also suffered a major outbreak of the disease Urban epidemics continued in the United
States until 1905 with the last outbreak affecting New Orleans a vaccine was developed and then
licensed in 1953 one vaccine is enough for life it's mostly recommended for those nine months or
older especially if you live or travel to high risk areas symptoms of yellow fever include a
fever yellowing of the skin and eyes bloody vomit which is always wonderful muscle aches liver and
kidney failure and seizures symptoms typically improve within five days but in about 15 percent
of people within a day of improving the fever comes back with worse symptoms abdominal pain and
more damage to internal organs and more yellowing of the skin in 1927 the yellow fever virus was
the first human virus to be isolated number eight cholera 1832-1866 the United States has had three
serious waves of Cholera between 1832 and 1866. a person with cholera has the same symptoms as
a person that ate a bus station burrito diarrhea vomiting dehydration electrolyte imbalance rapid
heartbeat weight loss and low blood pressure cholera is an infection of the small intestines
and it's usually spread by unsafe water and food that has been contaminated with human excrement
that contain the bacteria undercooked shellfish is also a common source New York City was the first
U.S city to feel the impact of Cholera between five and ten percent of the total population
died from cholera now they really aren't sure what ended this pandemic but it may have been
the change in climate or the use of quarantine measures who knows by the early 1900s outbreaks
had ended but cholera continues to affect an estimated three to five million people worldwide
wide and causes between thirty thousand and a hundred and thirty thousand deaths a year most
of those deaths come from Africa and Southeast Asia number seven scarlet fever 1858 when I was
in high school I didn't know this was a real thing I had a really good friend that just dated redhead
girls and we said he had scarlet fever but common symptoms are red rashes that start on the face or
neck and spread onto the arms trunk trunk and legs strawberry tongue and a flushed face other
symptoms include a very high fever sore throat difficulty swallowing enlarged glands in the
neck and uncontrolled vomiting when scarlet fever hit the United States in 1858 it was pretty much
all over the United States it is treatable with antibiotics long-term complications as a result
of scarlet fever include kidney disease heart disease and arthritis they're not sure when it
started but they know that Greek Physicians uh recorded cases of it back in 400 BC there was a
test invented for this in 1924 known as the dick test to identify those susceptible to scarlet
fever it was invented by George F dick and Gladys dick number six H1N1 flu 1918. this is commonly
known as the swine flu it is a type of influenza a virus and is one of several flu virus strains that
can cause the seasonal flu symptoms are the same as the seasonal flu sometimes fever chills coughs
or throat runny stuffy nose body aches fatigue diarrhea and vomiting here's a fun fact most
people believe you can get swine flu from eating pork that is false the 1918 outbreak was called
the Spanish Flu it was thought it actually came from Spain it is estimated that 500 million people
or one third of the world's population became infected with the virus the number of deaths was
estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675 000 occurring in the United States after
World War One cases of the flu slowly declined none of the suggestions provided at the time were
effective cures one of that was drink drinking coal oil today's treatments include bed rest
fluids and antiviral medication the virus strains mutate every year making it important to get your
yearly flu vaccine to decrease the risk now there's a lot of opinions on this one both from
medical professionals and from everyone else some people believe you only do it when you're at risk
maybe when you're a child and when you get older and that young people in their 20s and 30s and
maybe even 40s should just weather it to kind of build up immunity I don't know I'm not a scientist
I'm just a guy that talks into a microphone and Giggles when I find out that there's something
actually called the dick test yeah when I first read that it took me a couple minutes to recover
number five diphtheria 1921-1925. this is another one that's hit the United States a few times it
is a bacterial infection of the nose and throat symptoms include sore throat fever swollen lymph
nodes throat covered in a gray thick membrane difficulty swallowing and wheezing sometimes
bacterial toxins can enter the bloodstream and cause fatal heart and nerve damage diphtheria
peaked in the U.S in 1921 with 206 000 cases most the infections were a systematic or were mild
cases but in some outbreaks more than 10 percent of those diagnosed with the disease die diphtheria
is usually spread between people by direct contact or through the air it may also be spread by
contaminated objects by the mid-1920s researchers license a vaccine against the bacterial disease
that vaccine is still available today and it's very effective in 2015 4 500 cases were officially
reported worldwide that's down from near nearly one hundred thousand in nineteen eighty diphtheria
currently occurs most often in sub-Saharan Africa India and Indonesia in the U.S only 57 cases were
reported between 1980 and 2004. today more than 80 percent of children in the U.S are
vaccinated for this number four polio 1916-1955. this is a viral infection that causes nerve damage
which leads to partial and full paralysis it is spread through direct contact with people who
have the infection symptoms include sore throat fever vomiting weakness fatigue back and neck
stiffness muscle tenderness loss of reflexes and meningitis symptoms usually pass within a week or
two years after recovery post-polio syndrome may occur with a slow development of muscle weakness
much like that of a person had during the initial infection polio has existed for thousands of years
with the depiction of the disease in Ancient Art it was first recognized and identified in 1789.
major outbreaks started to occur in the late 19th century in Europe and in the U.S in the
20th century it became one of the most worrying childhood diseases outbreaks occurred regularly
in the United States through the 1950s with two major polio outbreaks in 1916 and 1952 of the 57
000 reported cases in 1952 there were 3145 deaths in 1955 Dr Jonas salk's vaccine was approved it
was quickly adopted throughout the world by 1962 the average number of cases dropped to about 910
the CDC reports that the United States has been polio free since 1979. that's an amazing story
actually I remember my grandmother saying she had friends growing up that got polio
and uh got paralyzed must have been horrible especially if you're a kid could you imagine
that one day you're fine you get a cold next thing you know you're in a wheelchair or worse
number three h2n2 flu 1957. the h2n2 is a subtype of the influenza A virus it mutated into various
different strains that are found in Birds this one carried the nickname of the Asian flu and that's
because the virus originated in Singapore in February of 1957 by June of 1957 it had showed up
in coastal towns in the U.S the estimated number of deaths was 1.1 million worldwide with about 116
000 in the United States they say this pandemic could have been a lot worse but it was caught
early and scientists were able to develop a vaccine pretty fast because of experience they
had from the first flu vaccine in 1942 number two the measles outbreak of 1981. this one was
first noticed at a pediatric practice in De Cobb County Georgia it came from a 12 year old boy
who was vaccinated against measles at 11 and a half months old he was at the office to check
on a rash he'd had for about two days he'd also been coughing vigorously seven secondary cases
of measles occurred due to the exposure four children had transient contact with 12 year
old boy as he entered and exited the doctor's office so they actually tracked this one down to
a specific time and place the risk of measles for unvaccinated infants was 80 percent the outbreak
proved that when Airborne the measles virus can survive at least one hour airflow studies showed
that droplet nuclei generated in the examining room used by the boy dispersed throughout the
entire office the virus caused fever runny nose cough red eyes sore throat and later a rash
that spread to the whole body back in the day before vaccines almost every single child got
measles in the second half of the 20th century most cases were due to inadequate vaccination
coverage doctors eventually began to recommend a second vaccine for everyone and since then
each year there have typically been fewer than one thousand cases even though 2019 was a little bit
weird they had more than that bonus pandemic all right we're getting a bonus one here this one's a
little strange it's Typhoid Mary 1906 to 1907. it's also known as typhoid fever and this was
basically spread by one person Mary Mallon also known as Typhoid Mary she spread the bacterial
infection to about 122 New Yorkers during her time as a cook on an estate and in a hospital
unit only about five of the 122 New Yorkers who contracted the illness from Mary Mallon died now
they recognized that she was a carrier of this she showed no symptoms and they basically told
her not to work in food anymore she carried this disease she continued to work as a cook eventually
they had gotten sick of dealing with her and they forcibly put her in quarantine for the last 20
years of her life on North brother Island in New York if you're looking for it it's right there
by Rikers Island and the East River basically it used to be a privately owned Island but in
2007 it was purchased by the federal government and it's just abandoned and it's their for Birds
now all right before we get to number one don't forget we have another Channel called on this day
there is a link down below all right on to number one and number one H1N1 flu 2009 the H1N1 flu is
commonly known as the swine flu in the spring of 2009 the H1N1 virus was detected in the United
States and spread quickly across the country and the world the outbreak made headlines as the swine
flu and that's kind of what everyone called it now what's interesting is few young people had
any existing immunities to the H1N1 virus but nearly one-third of people over 60 years old had
antibodies against the virus likely from exposure to an older H1N1 virus earlier in their lives
at the time the existing seasonal flu vaccine offered little protection against the new H1N1
2009 virus while the new vaccine was being made it was not available in large quantities until
later in November after the second wave in the U.S from April 2009 to April 2010 the CDC estimates
there was 60 million cases 274 thousand house hospitalizations and 12 469 deaths in the U.S
from the swine flu globally eighty percent of the outbreaks deaths were estimated to have occurred
in people younger than 65 years old in December of 2009 H1N1 vaccine became available to everyone
The Strain continues to circulate as a seasonal flu but causes fewer deaths in hospitalizations
influenza strains mutate every year making the previous year's vaccination less effective so it
is important to get your early vaccinations to decrease your risk that's what the CDC suggests
all right that's today's video hope you guys enjoyed it hope
you got some information out of it I thought this was very interesting I
hope you guys did too everybody have a great day be nice to each other