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| 10 Most DEVASTATING PLAGUES in History! |
Throughout history there have been many devastating plagues. Waves of illness that cripple entire populations and leave people in despair and ruin. But surprisingly, these diseases aren't just ancient history either. In fact, some of them are still killing people today.
So today we're going to be talking about those devastating plagues, not just what's out there now, but what has brought millions of people to their untimely deaths in the past.
These are the 10 most devastating plagues in history.
Number one The Black Death
Occurring between 1347 and 1351, this deadly plague killed 75 million people around the world and removed nearly two thirds of Europe's total population at the time.
This outbreak was the worst of many similar outbreaks throughout the centuries. Believed to have been caused by the bubonic plague, which was spread throughout Europe and Asia by rats and fleas.
The black death symptoms include swelling of the lymph nodes, neck, legs, and groin of the infected person. And even grosser is that these swellings would often grow to the point where they would burst,
spreading the disease even more.
Victims also suffered chills, weakness, vomiting, fever, and violent spasms. And the people who also see these things happening also vomit.
Number two The Antonine Plague
Often referred to as the Plague of Galen, this disease was piling up bodies between 165 and 180 CE. It was caused by a large scale outbreak of either smallpox or measles and had a 25 percent mortality rate
among those infected.
At the plague's most fatal point, it would claim up to 2000 people a day and even kill two Roman emperors. The plague was brought to Rome by their military after battles in the East and crippled the Roman army. In the end, this disease killed five million people in total, one third of the entire Roman population at the time.
Number three The Great Plague of London
This contained plague occurred in England between 1665 and 1666 and killed approximately 100,000 people, or 20 percent of London's population.
This plague was believed to be another outbreak of the bubonic plague, which caused many citizens to simply leave the city. During the outbreak, the effected were quarantined in their homes with a large red cross painted on the front door.
All public events like theater and sports were banned, just to slow down the spread of the disease and 40,000 dogs and 200,000 cats were destroyed as they were thought to be carriers of the disease.
Number four The Italian Plague
This strain of the bubonic plague occurred in 1629 and lasted until 1631, killing 280,000 people, mostly in Milan and Venice, and is often referred to as the Great Plague of Milan.
The plague was brought to Italy during the Thirty Years' War by diseased French and German troops who infected Venetian troops. The Venetians retreated and spread the plague throughout the rest of Italy.
Historians believe the outbreak to be a critical contributing factor to the downfall of Venice as an economic and political power after losing 33 percent of its population by 1631.
Number five The Third Cholera Pandemic
Starting in India in 1852 and then spreading worldwide, then finally ending in 1860, the Cholera Pandemic was one of the most devastating diseases of the 19th century due to its spread in contaminated food and water and the contagiousness through bodily fluids produced by the symptoms.
More than one million people died in Russia alone and 23,000 people in Great Britain including 10,000 in London. This was the third largest scale outbreak of cholera in the world causing people to weaken and perish from symptoms like, brace yourself, severe diarrhea, severe hydration, severe nausea and yeah severe vomiting.
Number six The Plague of Justinian
This plague devastated Constantinople during 541 and 542 CE and was the first great bubonic plague outbreak ever.
The disease caused necrosis of victims' flesh and left many dead after only two to seven days of initial symptoms.
In other words, you get a sniffly nose and you're like I'm okay, ah!
It originated in China and spread through rats on trade ships from Egypt. At its peak, the plague's death toll claimed 5,000 people daily and eliminated 40 percent of Constantinople's population. The Plague of Justinian is regarded by historians as the very first recorded outbreak of bubonic plague and was named after Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian the First. The disease would return in later generations until the eighth century forever changing Europe's history.
Number seven The Tuberculosis Pandemic
From earlier than 4000 BCE to the present day, tuberculosis, also known as TB, has been infecting and killing people including prehistoric humans and ancient Egyptians for a very long time. It's gone by names like white death and the great white plague.
Presently, tuberculosis infects nine million people a year and kills one million of them, which comes down to nearly 3000 deaths a day.
TB is highly contagious as it affects the lungs primarily and causes violent coughing fits where the disease can transmit through tiny liquid droplets that float through the air. Vaccines have been developed to help fight the spread, but new strains have evolved and become drug-resistant.
Number eight The Third Plague Pandemic
This was yet another instance of the bubonic plague outbreak which started in the Chinese province of Yunnan in 1855 and spread all around China and India, killing more than, believe it or not, 12 million people before eventually spreading to every single continent in the world.
This was the last of the great bubonic plagues since scientific and medical practice has, thank God, improved. Doctors and scientists began to discover the source of the infection, which as it turns out, happened to be fleas which were infected with bacteria and then transmitted it back to humans through bites.
Better treatments continued to be developed and in 1959, the global yearly death toll from the disease
decreased to only 200, nearly eradicating it from the Earth.
Number nine The 16th Century Mexican Cocoliztli
Occurring between 1545 and 1548 and during the European colonization of Mexico, this outbreak of an internal hemorrhaging disease referred to as cocoliztli destroyed 80 percent of the Mexican native population, killing nearly 15 million people. Four out of every five people died within three to four days of the infection with symptoms like : bleeding from eyes, nose, and mouth, severe headaches,
severe abdominal pain, and black tongue.
The spread and severity of the disease was intensified by an extreme drought and harsh living conditions of native slaves during the development of New Spain by the Europeans.
Number 10 The Spanish Influenza Pandemic
Between 1918 and 1919, the world was hit hard by a flu that infected 500 million people and killed nearly 100 million of them.
Usually influenza affects those with weakened immune systems such as the elderly or children but this strain attacked young adults and middle aged people and used their stronger immune systems to destroy their bodies.
Symptoms of the disease included, and I'll try to get through this as fast as I can, massive fluid build up in the lungs, violent coughing, extreme chills, blackened feet, and discoloration of the face.
The spread of influenza was increased due to large troop movements during World War One and wartime news censorship led everyone to believe that Spain was hit hardest, since it was a neutral country and did not censor reporters.
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