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429 BCE
Plague of Athens
The earliest recorded devastating urban epidemic.
The cause of the epidemic remains a scientific mystery. Candidates include typhus, plague, smallpox, or perhaps even Ebola. -
165
Antonine Plague
Caused up to 2,000 deaths a day at its height. with a mortality rate of 25%, it decimated populations in Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece and Italy.
Cause remains unknown but suspected to be measles or smallpox. -
541
Plague of Justinian
One of the greatest plagues in history killing an estimated 25 to 50 million throughout the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
Caused by Yersinia pestis, the bacteria responsible for the bubonic plague; transmitted by fleas. -
1347
Black Death
Reaching its peak in the years 1346-1356, estimates place the total number of dead from this pandemic at 75 million to 100 million. The effects of the Black Death were greatest in Europe, where it is thought that one third of the population perished.
The plague bacteria Yersinia pestis is endemic to rodent populations in warm, dry, grassland ecosystems. It is carried by fleas, which pick up the bacteria during a blood meal on an infected rodent. -
1509
Smallpox & Measles in the New World
The introduction of diseases such as smallpox and measles to naïve populations brought by the European invasions reduced the number of native Americas by as much as 95%, killing 20 million people
Smallpox is caused by the virus Variola major. Measles is caused by a paramyxovirus. Both diseases are transmitted through inhalation of infected droplets -
Typhus in the Thirty Years War
Body lice were prevalent in 17th century life, facilitating the spread of typhus. The movement of armies in Germany and Europe spread the disease resulting in the loss of between 15% to 20% of the population of the German states. -
Smallpox
Although the point of origin of the smallpox epidemic of 1775-1782 is unknown, the disease spread over the entire North American continent and Caribbean during these years, resulting in at least 130,000 deaths -
Influenza
Commonly known as the Spanish Flu, the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 was the deadliest pandemic of the twentieth century, killing between 20 and 50 million people worldwide.
Influenza is an airborne pathogen, traveling from host to host on droplets released from infected individuals through coughing and sneezing -
HIV / AIDS
Acquired Immune Deficiency Disease has resulted in 38 million deaths worldwide. At present 37 million people are infected with HIV.
Caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus, a retrovirus. Spread by sexual contact. -
SARS
Severe acute respiratory disease infected 8,098 people worldwide, resulting in 774 deaths.
Caused by coronavirus (related to common cold virus). Spread by close person-to-person contact and airborne. -
Zika
A dramatic increase in infants born with microcephaly was observed in several South American countries in 2015 and 2016. An infection by Zika virus in pregnant women has been implicated.
Positive strand RNA virus; transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. -
Ebola
Although outbreaks of Ebola virus disease have occurred since 1976, the outbreak between 2014 and 2016 is the largest and most complex.
Caused by Ebola virus. Transmission through direct contact with blood and body fluids of infected individuals. -
COVID-19
COVID-19 appeared in China in late 2019. The virus spread globally, infecting hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.
