Outbreaks

The Black Death

1350 Where: Originated in the arid plains of Central Asia, where it then travelled along the Silk Road, reaching Crimea, before spreading throughout the Mediterranean and Europe. Cause: Yersinia Pestis Origin: Carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30-60% of Europe's total population. In total, the plague reduced the world population from an estimated 450 million down to 350-375 million in the 14th century. The world population as a whole did not recover to pre-plague levels until the 17th century. The plague recurred occasionally in Europe until the 19th century.

Cocolitzi Epidemic

1576 Where: New spain in modern Mexico Cause: remains unknown though it might have been an indigenous viral hemorrhagic fever Origin: The correlation between the drought and the disease seems to be that in the rains that followed the drought, populations of the Vesper mouse, a carrier of viral hemorrhagic fever, increased as conditions improved. Symptoms high fever, severe headache, vertigo, black tongue, dark urine, dysentery, severe abdominal and thoracic pain, head and neck nodules, neurologic disorders, jaundice, and profuse bleeding from the nose, eyes, and mouth; death frequently occurred in 3 to 4 days. Cocoliztli is often said to be the bug to the invention of Ebola.

Antonine Plague

165AD Where: Roman Empire Cause: Suspected to have been either smallpox or measles, but the true cause remains undetermined Origin: Ancient pandemic brought back to the Roman Empire by troops returning from campaigns in the Near East. Symptoms: similar to smallpox: fever, diarrhea, and pharyngitis, as well as a skin eruption, sometimes dry and sometimes pustular, appearing on the ninth day of the illness. The epidemic had drastic social and political effects throughout the Roman Empire.

Great Plague of London

1666 It was the last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England. The Great Plague killed an estimated 100,000 people, almost a quarter of London's population. Origin: The plague had been a recurring problem in 17th century London.

First Cholera Epidemic

1817 Where: Kolkotta, spread throughout Southeast Asia to the Middle East, eastern Africa and the Mediterranean coast. Origin: Cholera was endemic to the lower Ganges River. Pilgrims frequently contracted the disease, which would spread through India, then subside. This time, it spread worldwide. Cause: Take a WILD guess.

Second Cholera Epidemic

1829 Where: from India across Asia, Europe, and America. Origin: Cholera was endemic to the lower Ganges River. Pilgrims frequently contracted the disease, which would spread through India, then subside. This time, it spread worldwide. Cause: -__-

Third Plague Pandemic

1850 Where: Began in Yunnan, China, before spreading to all inhabitable continents - especially India. Origin: Two sources: the first was primarily bubonic and was carried around the world through ocean-going trade, through transporting infected persons, rats, and cargoes harboring fleas. The second, more virulent strain, was primarily pneumonic in character with a strong person-to-person contagion. This strain was largely confined to Asia, in particular Manchuria and Mongolia. Killed more than 12 million in China and India alone.

Broad Street Cholera Outbreak

1854 Where: Soho district of London. Cause: Well I couldn't possibly tell from the name tbh. Origin: In the mid-19th century, the Soho district of London had a serious problem with filth due to the large influx of people and a lack of proper sanitary services: the London sewer system had not reached Soho. Many cellars had cesspools underneath their floorboards. Since the cesspools were overrunning, the London government decided to dump the waste into the River Thames. That specific action contaminated the water supply, leading to a cholera outbreak John Snow's study of the outbreak and his discovery that contaminated water, not air, spread cholera

Spanish Flu

1918 Cause: H1N1 Origin: A major troop staging and hospital camp in Étaples, France, is almost certainly the center of the 1918 flu pandemic. The close quarters and massive troop movements of World War I hastened the pandemic and probably both increased transmission and augmented mutation; the war may also have increased the lethality of the virus. Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill juvenile, elderly, or already weakened patients; in contrast, the 1918 pandemic predominantly killed previously healthy young adults. Modern research, using virus taken from the bodies of frozen victims, has concluded that the 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. An unusually deadly influenza pandemic; the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus. It infected 500 million people across the world, and resulted in the deaths of 50 to 100 million (three to five percent of the world's population), making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history. To maintain morale, wartime censors minimized early reports of illness and mortality in Germany, Britain, France, and the United States; but papers were free to report the epidemic's effects in neutral Spain, creating a false impression of Spain as especially hard hit—thus the pandemic's nickname Spanish flu.

Avian Bird Flu

1957 Cause: H2N2 Where: first identified in Guizhou. Spread through Singapore, HK, US, UK Prevention: The rapid development of a vaccine against the H2N2 virus in 1957 and the availability of antibiotics to treat secondary infections limited the spread and mortality of the pandemic. Origin: Some authors believe it originated from a mutation in wild ducks combining with a pre-existing human strain. Other authors are less certain.

Ebola

2013 Where: Began in Guinea, then spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, with minor outbreaks elsewhere. It has caused significant mortality, with reported case fatality rates of up to 70%. Cause: Ebola Virus Disease - Extreme poverty, a dysfunctional healthcare system, a distrust of government officials after years of armed conflict, and the delay in responding to the outbreak for several months all contributed to the failure to control the epidemic. Other factors included local burial customs of washing the body after death and the unprecedented spread of Ebola to densely populated cities. Origin: Researchers generally believe that a one-year-old boy, later identified as Emile Ouamouno, who died in December 2013 in Guinea, was the index case of the current Ebola virus disease epidemic. Researchers have long believed that bats are involved in the spread of the virus Transmission: human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids.

Plague of Athens

430BCE Second year of the Peloponnesian War. The sight of the burning funeral pyres of Athens caused the Spartans to withdraw, their troops being unwilling to risk contact with the diseased enemy. Where: Athens in Ancient Greece Origin: Entered Athens through Piraeus, the city's port and sole source of food and supplies. Transmission: Due to the close quarters and poor hygiene exhibited at that time Athens became a breeding ground for disease and many citizens died. Cause: Considered an outbreak of the bubonic plague, but alternative explanations include typhus, smallpox, measles, and toxic shock syndrome. Accounts of the Athenian plague graphically describe the social consequences of an epidemic. Fear of the law; care for the sick; religious strife.

Plague of Justinian

541 Where: Eastern Roman Empire Cause: Yersinia Pestis; regarded as the first recorded instance of bubonic plague. Origin: The outbreak in Constantinople was thought to have been carried to the city by infected rats on grain ships arriving from Egypt. To feed its citizens, the city and outlying communities imported massive amounts of grain—mostly from Egypt. One of the greatest plagues in history, this devastating pandemic resulted in the deaths of an estimated 25 million (initial outbreak that was at least 13% of the world's population) to 50 million (two centuries of recurrence) people.

H1N1

Influenza A (H1N1) virus is a subtype of influenza A virus Pandemics: Human influenza (flu) in 2009 1918 Spanish Flu. It is an orthomyxovirus that contains the glycoproteins haemagglutinin and neuraminidase. For this reason, they are described as H1N1, H1N2 etc. depending on the type of H or N antigens they express with metabolic synergy. Haemagglutinin causes red blood cells to clump together and binds the virus to the infected cell. Neuraminidase are a type of glycoside hydrolase enzyme which help to move the virus particles through the infected cell and assist in budding from the host cells. Some strains of H1N1 are endemic in humans and cause a small fraction of all influenza-like illness and a small fraction of all seasonal influenza (flu season). Other strains of H1N1 are endemic in pigs (swine influenza) and in birds (avian influenza). In 2009 a new strain of swine-origin H1N1 (swine flu) was declared pandemic. This novel virus spread worldwide and had caused about 17,000 deaths by the start of 2010. On August 10, 2010, the World Health Organization declared the H1N1 influenza pandemic over, saying worldwide flu activity had returned to typical seasonal patterns.

MERs

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, 2015 Viral respiratory infection Cause: MERS-coronavirus (MERS-CoV). MERS-CoV is a betacoronavirus derived from bats. Camels are believed to be involved in its spread to humans but it is unclear how. Spread between humans typically requires close contact with an infected person. Origin: First identified in a patient from Saudi Arabia in April 2012 South Korea reported its first MERS case on 20 May 2015. A 68-year-old man returning from the Middle East was diagnosed with MERS nine days after he initially sought medical help. Where: South Korea

SARs

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, 2003 Viral respiratory disease Cause: SARS coronavirus Where: Between November 2002 and July 2003, an outbreak of SARS in southern China caused an eventual 8,096 cases and 774 deaths reported in 37 countries, with the majority of cases in Hong Kong. Symptoms: Initial symptoms are flu-like and may include fever, myalgia, lethargy symptoms, cough, sore throat, and other nonspecific symptoms. Origin: There is a high probability that SARS coronavirus originated in bats and spread to humans either directly or through animals held in Chinese markets. Treatment: Antibiotics are ineffective, as SARS is a viral disease. Treatment of SARS is largely supportive with antipyretics, supplemental oxygen and mechanical ventilation as needed. People with SARS must be isolated, preferably in negative pressure rooms, with complete barrier nursing precautions taken for any necessary contact with these patients. As of 2015, there is no cure or protective vaccine for SARS that is safe for use in humans