In the spring of 2020, the whole world was paralyzed by the horror of the new coronavirus. But humanity has experienced infections and worse. One thing unites them - they were all caused by deadly invisible microorganisms.
Plague of Antoninus (161-180)
During the reign of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, the country was struck by an epidemic of an unknown disease. Thanks to the Greek physician Galen, we have some idea of her. The outbreak occurred in the camp of legionnaires returning from the eastern campaign. It all started with fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Then a dry cough began, a rash spread over the body. If it formed bloody crusts, the patient would inevitably die. If the patient held out until the moment when the rash turned pale and gradually subsided, he was on the mend.
Some began to show symptoms immediately, others were infected after a month or two. Galen claims that many were infected twice or even three times. The epidemic quickly crossed the boundaries of the camp and for almost 20 years devastated Italy in waves. About half of the infected died, and almost all children. Scientists believe that this was the first acquaintance of Europeans with measles. In total, about 20 million people have died in Italy. In the end, the disease took the life of Marcus Aurelius himself.
Justinian's plague (542-549)
This epidemic struck the Mediterranean and Europe during the reign of Emperor Justinian I, which is why it got its name. The initial outbreak of plague occurred in the Nile Delta. By trade routes by 542, the disease reached Constantinople. At the peak of the epidemic, 5,000 and even 10,000 people per day died here every day. From the capital of Byzantium, the infection spread to the east. Baghdad died out almost completely, Damascus was half depopulated.
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The epidemic swept across North Africa and Europe. These areas suffered less as they were less densely populated. It was bubonic plague, but in septic form, when the pathogen enters the body through mucous membranes and skin. Death overtook the infected within 24 hours.
The stronger the patient's body was, the sooner a lethal outcome occurred, and sometimes the symptoms did not even have time to appear completely. For this reason, the infection spread at an unprecedented speed, the cities were littered with corpses. The Justinian plague killed at least 100 million people.
Leprosy (XII - first half of the XIII century)
This disease, known even in ancient India, was brought to Europe by the crusaders from the Holy Land. It has many names: leprosy, Phoenician disease, lazy death. Leprosy is transmitted through close contact with the patient, its causative agent is the microbacterium leprosy.
The skin and mucous membranes, the peripheral nervous system, and then the respiratory tract and lymph nodes are affected. Deformation of the skin and non-healing ulcers lead to deformity, and damage to the nerves negates the sensitivity of the limbs. Unsanitary conditions and dirty water complete the work.
In the Middle Ages, sick people were buried during their lifetime and isolated in special shelters - leper colony. At the very peak of the epidemic, there were up to 20,000 such establishments in Europe, and the spread of the disease took on such a scale that special laws were issued on lepers. The incubation period for leprosy can last from six months to 40 years.
Black Death (1347-1353)
It was the worst outbreak of bubonic plague in history, wiping out up to half the population of Europe and about a third in Asia. The disease was brought from Crimea to Marseille by merchant ships in 1347.
It is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. It is carried by fleas that parasitize on rodents, but also bite humans. A bubo appears at the site of the bite, which is the body's attempt to stop the infection. Then the lymph nodes are affected and the immune system stops resisting.
In rare cases, the body resists longer, and then the plague bacillus infects the lungs. As a result, the patient begins to spread the infection by airborne droplets, which greatly increases the rate of development of the epidemic. The septic form of the plague is also dangerous, when buboes do not appear at all, and the infected person does not feel any symptoms until the very agony. This makes it difficult to make a diagnosis and does not give time to take quarantine measures.
Cocolitztli (1545-1578)
At the beginning of the 16th century, the Aztecs were defeated by the Spaniards. But they only captured the capital of a huge empire. Mexico was still unconquered. In 1545 the local population was seized by a mysterious sea. The temperature rose, my head hurt. Blood flowed from the nose, ears, eyes and mouth. On the second day, the body was covered with a bloody rash. On the fourth, death came. Almost 100 percent of those infected died. The Europeans were also sick, but in a milder form.
The Indians called this epidemic Cocolitztli, or "seasickness." For 30 years, 80 percent of the population of Mexico, or about 20 million people, died out from it. For a long time, it was believed that smallpox, introduced by the conquistadors, was to blame. Only in the past decade have scientists established that the causative agent of the disease was the bacterium Salmonella enterica, a type of microorganism that causes typhoid fever.
Bombay Plague (1894-1907)
The last major plague epidemic in history. It began in the Chinese province of Yunnan, spread to Hong Kong, and by 1894 reached Bombay.
The causative agent of plague was discovered a little earlier, and a vaccine has already been developed in Europe. However, India's backwardness and high population density impeded the fight against infection. Despite the quarantine, the plague moved across the country at a speed of 20 kilometers per year. Outbreaks of pulmonary disease have been reported. During the years of the epidemic in China and India, about 12 million people died, but, in the end, it was possible to contain it with the help of European doctors and volunteers.
Spanish Woman (1918-1919)
The most massive influenza pandemic in history. The first cases appeared in April 1918 in France, but by May up to 40 percent of the Spanish population had been affected by the virus - hence the name. According to another version, the countries participating in the First World War did not report a pandemic that had begun in their rear, and the neutral Spaniards were the first to do this.
In total, about 550 million people, or a third of the world's population, have been ill. Died up to 100 million, and not only in backward countries. The fact is that this virus strain strongly affected lung tissue. When coughing, the inflamed blood vessels were destroyed, and the lungs filled with blood, which was fatal. The stronger the patient's immunity was, the more likely death occurred.
Poliomyelitis (1954-1962)
The cause of the epidemic in the middle of the 20th century was the improvement in living conditions. The causative agent of poliomyelitis is so contagious that in conditions of unsanitary conditions and a crowded population, people received it in infancy and developed immunity. By the middle of the 20th century, hygiene had improved so much in developed countries that poliomyelitis was forgotten. And in vain: people who grew up in relative purity became easy prey for the virus. The epidemic rapidly spread to the USA, Europe, USSR, East Asia. Up to 25 percent of those affected died, most of those who recovered remained paralyzed or disabled with atrophied limbs. In the USSR, the peak of the epidemic was in 1959 - 440,000 cases.
Ebola (2014-2015)
The Ebola virus, which causes hemorrhagic fever, was discovered in 1976 after an outbreak in Sudan and Zaire. The pathogen is extremely dangerous, transmitted through contact with any carrier fluids: blood, saliva, phlegm … In nature, primates are natural carriers.
A special danger of Ebola is that even pets can become infected, besides, the virus persists for a long time in the bodies of the dead and on objects. The onset of the disease resembles the flu: fever, joint aches, headache. Then diarrhea, nausea, sore throat appear. Internal bleeding is possible. In this case, the prognosis for cure is zero. But even with the course of the disease in a mild form, mortality reaches 50-90 percent.
The worst Ebola epidemic began in West Africa in 2014. Officially, there are about 30,000 cases of infection. Slightly less than half of the victims have died. However, in fact, more than 200,000 people died from Ebola then, and entire tribes in remote areas died out.
HIV infection (1980 - present)
Scientists believe that the human immunodeficiency virus passed from primates to humans in Equatorial Africa in the middle of the 20th century. From there, around 1980, he came to the United States, and only then a worldwide epidemic began. It is transmitted through blood or damaged mucous membranes. For a long time, it was believed that this disease is the lot of the marginalized.
However, in the 1990s, the spread of HIV infection took on catastrophic proportions. The pathogen that has entered the bloodstream affects the immune system and gradually destroys it. As a result, the infected person dies from secondary diseases. The incubation period is from one month to 12 years, which makes it difficult to localize the epidemic.
Since then, over 120 million people have been infected with the HIV virus. More than 53 million have died. Science knows only two cases of complete recovery.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №20. Author: Boris Sharov