Few words in any language are capable of causing as much suffering, horror and death as an epidemic. Throughout the history of mankind, various infections have caused him great harm, destroying entire nations, taking a huge number of lives, not comparable even to the victims of war. In addition, epidemics have played an important role in world history.
Ancient people always dealt with various diseases, encountering microbes that provoked the development of diseases not only in the environment, but also in drinking water and food. Periodic outbreaks of the disease could take the lives of an entire group of people. And only with the beginning of the formation of populations did infectious diseases develop into epidemics.
Epidemics are commonly referred to as the spread of a disease that affects a significant number of people in one population group (for example, within a region or city). In the event that outbreaks of the disease cover larger areas, the epidemic develops into a pandemic.
Throughout its developmental history, humans have exposed themselves to the risk of new fatal diseases. These risks arose later on the domestication of wild animals, which were carriers of dangerous microbes and bacteria, which later adapted to the human body.
A man mastered new territories, coming into close contact with new bacteria and microbes that he would never have encountered. Food storage attracted mice and rats to people's homes, bringing more germs with them. People began to build wells and canals, resulting in stagnant water, habitat for mosquitoes and mosquitoes.
Ultimately, many infectious diseases arose and spread throughout the world, which carried a mortal danger to humans. One of the worst epidemics in the world was the smallpox epidemic. The Europeans, exploring the American continent, brought with them a lot of infections, to which the local population simply did not have immunity. One of the main infections among these was smallpox, which has attacked humans for millennia. Some of its species reached a mortality rate of 30 percent. In 1796, scientists created a smallpox vaccine, but despite this, the infection spread further. The smallpox epidemic could be observed in the last century, in 1967, the victims of which, think about these numbers, became more than two million people. The World Health Organization has decided on a mass vaccination. Thus,in 1977, the last case of infection with this infection was noted. Currently, smallpox exists only in scientific laboratories.
Another deadly epidemic swept the world in 1918. By the end of the First World War, about 37 million people had died. But that was not all - a new infectious disease appeared, which is now known as the "Spanish flu" or "Spanish flu". In fact, it doesn't matter at all what you call it - what matters is that it killed 20 million people in just a few months. Many experts even now consider the "Spanish flu" not only the worst epidemic, but also a pandemic of all that has ever been noted in history.
It was not an ordinary influenza virus, but a completely new strain for which the human body was completely unprepared. According to the assumptions of some scientists, this virus appeared in America, and it was named Spanish only because 8 million people became its victims in this country. And due to the massive transportation of food and soldiers by the end of the war, the virus was able to develop into a pandemic and spread to other countries and continents. Within a year, the Spanish flu epidemic subsided as the virus mutated into more harmless forms. Many modern people have immunity from this virus, inherited from relatives who survived the pandemic.
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The typhus virus, one of the most destructive diseases in the world, was no less dangerous for humanity. People have been suffering from this disease for centuries, thousands of people have become victims of it. Typhoid fever often struck the military, so this disease is also called "war fever." In 1618-1648, during the 30-year war, an epidemic of plague, typhus, together with famine, claimed the lives of more than 10 million people. There have been cases when outbreaks of typhus have dictated the course of world history. So, in particular, during the siege in 1489 of Granada, an outbreak of the disease occurred in the Spanish troops. Within a month, 17,000 soldiers died from typhus. And during the First World War, typhus killed several million people in Poland, Russia and Romania.
In the modern world, thanks to improved sanitation and treatment methods, the likelihood of developing typhus is almost zero. Moreover, the advent of the typhoid vaccine helped eradicate the disease in the developed world. At the same time, periodic outbreaks are observed in Asia, Africa and South America.
The so-called black death is also a deadly epidemic in the past. This is a plague pandemic that killed half of the population of the European continent in 1348, as well as claimed the lives of parts of the population of India and China. This infectious disease has had a major impact on global politics, society and trade. For a long time it was considered an epidemic of the bubonic plague, which was carried by rat fleas. However, studies conducted in modern conditions have questioned this statement. Some experts say that the plague was a hemorrhagic virus similar to the Ebola virus. Scientists continue to study the remains of victims of this virus in the hope of substantiating their theories.
Oddly enough, but the plague can still inhabit the poor areas inhabited by rats. Thanks to the advances in modern medicine, the disease can be cured at an early stage, so it can be fatal much less often.
Throughout its history, mankind has suffered from another virus - tuberculosis. In ancient texts, there are many references to how quickly the disease progressed, and the results of DNA tests indicate that this virus is present even in Egyptian mummies. Around the 17th century, an epidemic of tuberculosis, better known as the Great White Plague, began, which raged the world for two centuries. Tuberculosis was a persistent problem for Americans, and even at the end of the nineteenth century, about a tenth of all deaths in the country were associated with tuberculosis. In the mid-1940s, streptomycin, an antibiotic that helped fight the virus, was developed. Later, more effective drugs appeared that finally helped humanity get rid of this terrible disease. On the other hand, approximately 2 million people worldwide die each year from this disease.
In the 1980s, a virus emerged that escalated into a global pandemic. It's about AIDS. Since its inception, it has claimed the lives of over 25 million people worldwide. Today, more than 33 million infected people live on the planet. According to scientists, this virus passed from monkey to man in the middle of the last century. And thanks to intravenous drugs and unprotected sexual intercourse, the virus began to spread very quickly. There is currently no cure for AIDS.
If we talk about epidemics of modern times, then most of the diseases that have appeared in the past few decades, with the exception of the aforementioned AIDS virus, did not pose a mortal danger to humans. The spread of some of them (in particular, influenza) can be localized by limiting contact between people. The Ebola virus is geographically limited and poses little threat to the rest of the world. But SARS has every chance of becoming a new world epidemic. This disease is better known as avian influenza, because some time ago it was believed that this disease, which is characteristic of birds, is caused by one of the strains of the influenza A virus, similar to normal human flu. The main role in its distribution belongs to migratory birds, especially those who cruise between the Far East and China. To date, there are 15 known species of avian flu, but only one of them - H5N1 - is dangerous to humans. The first case of infection with this virus was recorded in 1997 in Hong Kong, and in 2003-2004 the bird flu epidemic covered 8 Asian countries, a year later the virus appeared in Russia and Turkey. At that time, a version appeared that the deadly bird flu virus was artificially bred in European laboratories in order to destroy the poultry industry in Asian countries and thus get rid of competition.a year later, the virus appeared in Russia and Turkey. At that time, a version appeared that the deadly bird flu virus was artificially bred in European laboratories in order to destroy poultry farming in Asian countries and thus get rid of competition.a year later, the virus appeared in Russia and Turkey. At that time, a version appeared that the deadly bird flu virus was artificially bred in European laboratories in order to destroy poultry farming in Asian countries and thus get rid of competition.
In 2004, the bird flu virus was detected in pigs. Scientists have hypothesized that a mutation has occurred that could lead to a new, deadly virus from the mixing of avian and human influenza viruses. As a result of genetic exchange between them, a global pandemic may arise, which will take millions of lives, and all because no one has immunity to a new strain of influenza. Moreover, according to scientists, the death rate from the new virus can reach 50 percent.
However, in addition to deadly epidemics, there have been many in the history of mankind that now cause only laughter. This, in particular, a cough (caused by the ARI virus), a port hernia (the epidemic spread exclusively among loaders and passed with the advent of cranes), smelt (people who ate this fish, staged lazy riots and fights) and, of course, the hibony plague (brought by one photographer with a monkey in Sochi and has not been defeated to this day).
A person is dependent on many factors, ranging from weather and climate and their own genes to events that took place on the other side of the world. But the good news is that the inner forces of a person are equal to the forces that act from the outside. Otherwise, the person would have ceased to exist long ago …
Also see the documentary special project: The worst epidemics.