The intermittent outbreaks of several infectious ailments have had a profound impact on our society, culture, and food habits. The pandemic events have drastically shaped the lifestyle of human beings for centuries. The term plague is used interchangeably and in Greek, it is used to describe any type of sickness. With the modernization of human civilization and improvement in world connectivity, the human race has spread widely across the world and concurrently the infectious ailments have been a constant companion.
Pandemics history
Deforestation, urbanization, modernization, industrialization as escalated the risk of zoonotic pandemics like Covid-19. For centuries, different deadliest pandemic events have been confronted by humans and have deeply shaped the culture and behavior of mankind.
The plague of 430 B.C.
The historical Athenian plague was documented during the Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta at the time of 430-26 B.C. It was originated in Ethiopia and encroached whole Egypt and Greece. The critical symptoms were headache, fever, rash covering the skin, vomiting, and severe stomach pain. This plague took away the lives of about 25 percent of the population.
The plague of 165-180 AD (The Antonine plague)
The Antonine plague pandemic happened in the Roman Empire during 165-180 AD and was considered as the beginning stage of smallpox. This outbreak is also known as the plague of Galen. It affected about one-third of the population and claimed the death of 5 million lives. The symptoms were sore throat, diarrhea, and fever.
Plague of 250 AD (Cyprian plague)
This plague included symptoms like throat ulcer, diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and gangrenous feet. It was originated in Ethiopia and spread to Europe and Northwards.
Plague of 541 AD (Justinian Plague)
It was caused by Yersinia Pestis bacteria and was a real pandemic that occurred during 541 AD. It hails origin in Ethiopia to central Asia. It took away the lives of about 50 million people which was 25 percent of the total world population at that time.
The plague of 1347-1351 AD (Black Death)
The black death was one of the deadliest pandemic outbreaks which claimed the death of about 200 million lives. It was originated in China in 1334 and entered Europe in 1347. This bubonic plague was caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria and the vector was rat fleas. It was contagious and caused the pneumonic plague.
Spanish flu (1918-20)
The Spanish flu pandemic was caused by the H1N1 strain of the influenza virus. It was a true global pandemic and claimed the death of 50 million lives.
HIV/AIDS pandemic (1981-)
HIV/AIDS is a gradually increasing global pandemic for the last 4-5 decades. It was first identified in the American gay community and has claimed 35 million lives to date. HIV destroys the immune system of individuals and eventually leads to death.
Smallpox pandemic of 1972
This was a contagious pandemic for which the first vaccine was developed by Edward Jenner. It was caused by the Variola virus and typical symptoms were prominent skin erruptions.
Swine flu pandemic
It was caused by the H1N1 virus in 2009 and started in Mexico. It caused a death toll of 5 lakh individuals.
SARS
The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was the first viral outbreak of the twenty-first century. It claimed about 10000 lives in China.
EBOLA
This virus outbreak was mainly confined to West and Central Africa. During the period of 2013-2016, it killed more than 11000 people.
Covid-19
Currently, we are facing the deadliest viral outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 originated in China during 2019. Worldwide it has influenced more than 76 million people and claimed the lives of more than 1.7 million people to date.
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