Historical Outbreaks

Ebola Outbreak of 2015

Epidemic Cause: Ebola Virus Disease West African nations of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone Ebola was first described in Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo Failure to control the epidemic: poverty, dysfunctional healthcare systems, mistrust of government Hospital workers are vulnerable to catching the disease Serious problems in combating the disease due to lack of health utilities and staff.

Plague of Athens

Epidemic Hit the city-state of Athens in ancient Greece during the second year of the Peloponnesian War (430 BCE) Entered Athens through Piraeus, the city's port and sole source of food and supplies Plague returned twice more (429 BC & 427/426 BC) Due to the close quarters and poor hygiene exhibited at that time Athens became a breeding ground for disease and many citizens died including Pericles, his wife, and his sons Paralus and Xanthippus.

Cocoliztli

Epidemic New Spain in Mexico in 16th Century (1576) Viral hemorrhagic fever could have been affected by a drought Historians suggested it was typhus, measles, or smallpox, though the symptoms did not match.

Great Plague of London (1665-1666)

Last major epidemic Cause: Bubonic Plague, Yersinia Pestis England Killed an estimated 100,000 people (quarter of population) Transmitted through the bite of an infected rat flea. "great" plague mainly because it was the last widespread outbreak of bubonic plague in England

Cholera Outbreak of 1854

Outbreak Broad Street in the Soho district of London, England in 1854 Best known for Physician John Snow's study that contaminated water, not air, spread cholera Construction of improved sanitation facilities beginning in the 19th century Cause: Since the cesspools were overrunning, the London government decided to dump the waste into the River Thames

The First Cholera Pandemic

Pandemic 1817-1824 Cause: Cholera Began near Calcutta (India) Sweep through Asia and Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. Affecting almost every country in Asia

The Second Cholera Pandemic

Pandemic 1829-1851 Cause: Cholera It is exclusively a human disease, and it can spread through many means of travel, such as by persons via caravan, ship, and aeroplanes. India across western Asia to Europe, Great Britain and the Americas, as well as east to China and Japan. Treatable with oral re-hydration therapy and preventable with adequate sanitation and water treatment.

Plague of Justinian

Pandemic Affected Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) Deaths of an estimated 25 to 50 million people (40%) Cause: Yersinia pestis bacterium China as having been the primary source of the contagion Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I, who was emperor at the time of the initial outbreak; he contracted the disease himself yet survived. This case was regarded as the first recorded instance of bubonic plague.

The Third Pandemic

Pandemic Cause: Bubonic Plague Began in Yunnan province in China in 1855 ultimately killed more than 12 million people in India and China alone Two forms of Spread: 1. was carried around the world through ocean-going trade, through transporting infected persons, rats, and cargoes harboring fleas. 2. primarily pneumonic in character with a strong person-to-person contagion.

1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic

Pandemic deadly influenza The first pandemic involving H1N1 influenza virus 50 to 100 million (three to five percent of the world's population) deaths virus kills through a cytokine storm (overreaction of the body's immune system) The strong immune reactions of young adults ravaged the body, whereas the weaker immune systems of children and middle-aged adults resulted in fewer deaths among those groups.

The Black Death

Pandemic Deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people (30-60%) Europe in the years 1346-53 Cause: Yersinia pestis bacterium Carried by Oriental rat fleas living on black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships. Modern treatments: insecticides, antibiotics, plague vaccine.

Antonine Plague (Plague of Galen)

Pandemic, 165-180 AD Roman Empire by troops returning from campaigns in the Near East. smallpox or measles, but true case remain undetermined Claimed the life of Roman emperor Lucius Verus The disease broke out again nine years later (MR:25%/per day) Many turned to the protection offered by magic Plague of Galen: Greek physician living in the Roman Empire who described it