932 deaths from ebola might seem like a lot, but the real pandemic terror is lurking elsewhere...
Hey everyone, Laci Green here for DNews. Throughout history, there have always been outbreaks
of one disease or another. But on occasion, those diseases are so AGGRESSIVE, so DEADLY,
that they strike fear into the hearts of human beings for centuries to come. Here’s a review
of the top 5 deadliest pandemic diseases --or diseases that went international-- that humanity
has somehow survived.
#1: Smallpox - It’s estimated that smallpox first emerged around 400BC, but it first changed
history in the 16th century when it killed off ⅓ of Central and South Americans. In
the 18th century it went on to kill 60M Europeans. And in the 20th century it killed 300-500
MILLION people. The disease was viral, causing spotty bumps all over the body, and it was
transmitted as easily as facing someone. In 1980, thanks to a worldwide vaccination effort,
the WHO declared smallpox the first and only disease to be completely eradicated.
#2 is the Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death. The Black Death swept
in during the 14th century, a bacterium carried by fleas that caused egg-sized swellings on
peoples’ bodies called “buboes”. Buboes meant you had no more than a week to live
and even being near someone with them could pass them on. The plague started in China
and India before spreading to Europe. It killed between 75 and 200 million people, nearly
HALF of Europe and a sizeable chunk of the entire world’s 450 million person population.
#3: The 1918 Flu, AKA The Spanish Flu - which wasn’t actually Spanish. At the time, during
World War I, the military was censoring the news and many people didn’t even know it
was happening. In Spain, where the news WASN’T censored, it received tons of press. This
flu came and went in a terrifying flash, infecting 1 billion people worldwide -- half the global
population. The flu would fill peoples’ lungs with fluid, targeting the young and
healthy. By 1919 it went as fast as it had come, having decimated the global population.
#4: Malaria. Malaria is a blood disease caused by protozoan parasites. The parasite is transmitted
widely through female Anopheles mosquitoes - they suck up infected blood and then pass
it on to the next person they bite. Every year, there are over 200 million cases of
malaria worldwide and about 2 million of those people die. There are drugs to treat it, but
resistance is spreading.
#5: Lastly, is HIV/AIDS, disease that surfaced in the 80s and is often sexually transmitted
because it hides in bodily fluids. HIV decimates the immune system, making it hard or impossible
to fight off other infections and illnesses. Over 36M people worldwide have died of AIDS,
most of which were in Africa. 33 years later, and scientists still haven’t found a cure.
This is just a handful and of course there have been MANY more - cholera, polio, tuberculosis.
Statistics-wise, the 21st century is a relatively good time to be alive. Thanks for joining
me for DNews everyone! I’ll see you next time.