The number of deaths from this has not yet reached 100, but the swine flu epidemic has attracted a lot of attention in the media in recent weeks. While regular flu viruses have killed thousands of people during this time, swine flu is all over the news because of concerns that it could become a pandemic, the spread of an infectious disease over a wide geographic area. There have been countless cases of mass pandemics in history, and some have even been powerful enough to overthrow governments and nearly destroy entire civilizations. Swine flu will likely run its course and soon be forgotten, but here are 10 examples of diseases that have made a big mark on history.
1. Plague of Athens
The Plague of Athens was an epidemic in Greece during the Peloponnesian War in 430 BC. Historians have not been able to agree on exactly what the plague was, diseases such as typhus, smallpox and measles have all been considered, but most are considered a form of plague. The disease began when the inhabitants of Athens retreated behind the walls of the city-state to protect themselves from the approaching Spartan army. The cramped quarters inevitably became a breeding ground for plague, which reportedly killed a third of the city-state's inhabitants, including its leader, Pericles.
2. Malaria
Although now largely confined to the tropics, malaria is still one of the world's most devastating pandemics and continues to infect 500 million people each year. The disease, caused by a parasite found in some mosquitoes, is resistant to drugs and a reliable vaccine has not yet been developed. Malaria and its effects have been well documented as a major factor throughout history. There were over a million cases of the disease during the American Civil War alone, and many credit malaria as a factor in the decline and eventual fall of the Roman Empire.
3. Antonine plague
Now suspected of being an epidemic of measles or smallpox, the Antonine Plague was a pandemic that ravaged the Roman Empire from 165 to 180 AD. The disease, also known as the Galenic Plague, is thought to have been brought to Rome by troops returning from battle. At its height, the Antonine Plague is estimated to have killed a quarter of all the people it infected, a total of 5 million, and two of the Roman emperors were among the victims. A similar disease occurred in 251 AD, believed by many to be a return of the Antonine Plague. This time it was known as the Plague of Cyprus, and at its peak it is said to have killed 5,000 people in the city of Rome every day.
4. Typhus
Known for its ability to spread rapidly in cramped and unsanitary conditions, typhus killed millions of people in the 20th century alone. The disease is also known as "camp disease" because it broke out on the front lines during the war. An estimated 8 million Germans died during the 30-year war as a result of the typhus pandemic, which was also well-documented as a significant cause of death in Nazi concentration camps. Typhus is perhaps most famous for nearly wiping out the French army during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. It is estimated that up to 400,000 of his soldiers died of disease, more than were killed in battle.
5. Cholera pandemic
One of the most consistently dangerous diseases in history, cholera and its so-called “seven pandemics” killed millions of people between 1816 and the early 1960s. The disease, usually transmitted through contaminated food or drinking water, first spread in India, where it is said to have killed nearly 40 million people between 1817 and 1860. It will soon spread to Western Europe and the United States, where it will cause more deaths. Over a hundred thousand people in the mid-1800s. Epidemics of cholera have occurred from time to time since then, but medical advances have made it a less deadly disease. Although the fatality rate was once 50 percent or more, cholera, which is treated, is now life-threatening only in the rarest of cases.
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