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430 BCE: Athens Plague -

The first major pandemic on record occurred during the Peloponnesian War. Two-thirds of the population of Athens died as a result.

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430 BCE: Athens Plague -

Despite speculation, the specific disease that devastated Athens remains unknown to this day.

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165: Antonine Plague -

Also known as the Plague of Galenis, it is thought to have been a smallpox or measles outbreak originally affecting the Huns. The plague eventually spread throughout the Roman Empire.

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165: Antonine Plague -

The pandemic lasted until 180 AD. Although Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius' death is attributed to natural causes, it is speculated that he was affected by the plague.

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250: Cyprian Plague -

The plague was named after Cyprian, bishop of Carthage. It is speculated that it started in Ethiopia and spread northwards, hitting Egypt and then Rome. 

The Cyprian Plague eventually reached Britain in 444. This led the weakened Britons to seek help from the Saxons to help fight the Scots and the Picts.

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541: Justinian Plague -

Thought to be the first case of bubonic plague, it originated in Egypt and then spread throughout the Byzantine Empire and the Mediterranean.

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541: Justinian Plague -

In two centuries, the plague killed approximately 50 million people—that was about 26% of the world population!

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11th Century: Leprosy -

The disease spread throughout Europe during the Middle Ages. At the time, it was believed that the disease was a punishment from God and sufferers were cursed.

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11th Century: Leprosy -

Also known as Hansen’s disease, leprosy still affects a large number of people worldwide. Though now, at early stages, the bacterial disease can be cured.

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1350: Black Death - Responsible for wiping out one-third of the world population, this global epidemic of bubonic plague was truly devastating.

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1350: Black Death -

The disease has not been completely eradicated, and there are still around 650 new cases reported each year. There is a 10% mortality rate in those who receive treatment, but it is several times more likely to be fatal if left untreated. 

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1492: Columbian Exchange -

When Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas, the Taíno (indigenous people of the Caribbean) numbered about 60,000. By 1548, they were less than 500.

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1492: Columbian Exchange -

Diseases brought from Europe such as measles and the bubonic plague killed an estimated 90% of the local population. The Aztec Empire, for instance, was destroyed by a smallpox outbreak.

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1665: The Great Plague of London -

The next wave of the bubonic plague killed about 20% of London's population in 1665.

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1665: The Great Plague of London -

And when Londoners were just starting to recover from the Great Plague, another devastating event hit them—the Great Fire of London in 1666.

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1817: First Cholera Pandemic -

This was the first of seven cholera pandemics over the next 150 years. It supposedly started in Russia and spread throughout the world. Around 150,000 people died.

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1852: Third Cholera Pandemic -

The third one was probably the most devastating cholera pandemic. Between 1852 to 1860, it killed about one million people.

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1855: The Third Plague Pandemic -

The third wave of the bubonic plague started in China and moved to India and Hong Kong. There were an estimated 15 million victims.

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1855: The Third Plague Pandemic -

Believe it or not, the pandemic actually remained active until 1960.

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1875: Fiji Measles Pandemic -

As Fiji became part of the British Empire, Fijian chief Ratu Cakobau went on a trip to Australia⁠—but there was a measles epidemic in the country.

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1875: Fiji Measles Pandemic -

Upon his return, the disease spread, eventually killing around 40,000 people. That was one-third of Fiji's population at the time.

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1889: Russian Flu -

The pandemic started in Siberia and Kazakhstan and then spread throughout Europe, North America, and Africa.

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1889: Russian Flu -

By 1890, the Russain Flu had killed around 360,000 people.

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1918: Spanish Flu -

Despite its name, research suggests that this strain of "bird flu" may actually have originated in the United States, spreading to Europe during WWI. 

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1918: Spanish Flu -

The outbreak lasted for approximately a year and resulted in an estimated 20 to 50 million deaths around the world. It infected around 40% of the global population.

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1957: Asian Flu -

The Asian Flu started in Hong Kong and spread throughout China, the US, and then the UK.

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1957: Asian Flu -

The pandemic killed around 1.1 million people worldwide between 1957 and 1958. 

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1968: Hong Kong Flu -

The first case of this flu was reported in July 1968 in, naturally, Hong Kong. Three months later the virus had reached Europe, the US, India, Australia, and the Philippines.

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1968: Hong Kong Flu -

The pandemic killed approximately a million people globally, including 500,000 Hong Kong residents, which was about 15% of its population.

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1981: HIV/AIDS -

Exploding in the US in the early 1980s, the virus was traced back to chimpanzees in Africa.

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1981: HIV/AIDS -

Over 35 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses. Despite advances in medicine that allow patients to manage the disease, a cure is yet to be found.

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2020: COVID-19 -

The COVID-19 virus emerged in 2019, detected for the first time in Wuhan, China. It quickly spread around the world by early 2020, causing global lockdowns unlike anything human beings had ever experienced. 

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2020: COVID-19 -

The virus, which causes flu-like symptoms, infected more than 700 million people within three years, and caused 6.9 million confirmed deaths.

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2020: COVID-19 -

A year into the pandemic, vaccines had been developed which were slowly rolled out around the world. Currently, the COVID-19 virus is still around and the World Health Organization still classifies it as a pandemic, but the fatality rate is now a fraction of what it was thanks to the vaccines. 

See also: Diseases you thought were gone...but aren't

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