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Do you panic about catching the Coronavirus and dying in terrible suffering? Rest assured: it will always be less serious than the bubonic plague or the Spanish flu.
Black plague (1347-1352)
Caused by the bacterium yersinia pestis, black plague killed between 25 and 50 million people in Europe between 1347 and 1352, or 30 to 50% of the population. For your information, bubonic plague is transmitted by flea bite and is characterized by the appearance of a pretty little bubo in the groin or in the hollow of the armpit. Regarding the treatment, the doctors of the time (who were not very advanced) advised to burn cabbage trunks and quince peels, sexual abstinence and religious processions to ward off demons. It worked well.
Spanish flu (1918-2020)
Due to the H1N1 strain, the 1918 flu called “Spanish flu” killed 30 million people according to the Institut Pasteur. Originating in China, this deadly pandemic owes its name to the fact that the king of Spain Alphonse XIII was one of the most famous victims. Like the Chernobyl radioactive cloud, the French media at the time preferred to suggest that the flu only affected Spain, so that the German enemy would not know that the French army was weakened. This did not stop 408,000 French people from calming down.
Justinian’s plague (541-542)
Like black plague, Justinian plague was caused by the bacteria yersinia pestis which has killed around 25 million people worldwide, particularly around the Mediterranean basin. Imported from Egypt via grain shipments swarming with swarms of contaminated rats (delicious), Justinian’s plague had the characteristic necrosis of the hand (delicious again). It is the first historical appearance of bubonic plague.
AIDS (since 1981)
It was on June 5, 1981 that the AIDS epidemic officially started, when doctors noted an increase in the cases of pneumocystosis among five gay men in Los Angeles. In the months that followed, several cases of immunosuppression were noted across the United States. On the origins of the epidemic, most doctors speak of a transmission from ape to man at the start of the 20th century. Since 1981, AIDS has killed more than 25 million people worldwide.
The plague Antonine (165-190)
Attributed to smallpox or measles (but in any case not to bubonic plague), Antonine plague owes its name to the dynasty which then reigned over the Roman Empire. It killed 5 million people, including two emperors: Lucius Verus and Marc Aurèle. For many historians, this epidemic corresponds to the beginning of the weakening of the Roman Empire, due to the significant reduction of its population.
The Asian flu (1956-1958)
Identified for the first time in Guizhou province in China, the Asian flu was born from the mutation of wild ducks by combining them with a human strain of influenza. After Asia, it has spread worldwide, causing 2 million deaths according to the WHO. The United States will have been one of the most affected countries with 69,800 deaths, but the epidemic could have been even more deadly if a vaccine had not been quickly found.
Smallpox and the Native Americans (1492-1650)
If the Amerindians were of course largely exterminated by the colonists, the historians have since widely agreed that it is the different epidemics which largely contributed to their disappearance. Reported directly from Europe to a population which had never faced it, smallpox thus largely decimated the Amerindian population which had been reduced by 90% in 1650. Due to a poxvirus, smallpox has the direct consequence of the appearance of hundreds of small pustules everywhere under the body, then death. Fortunately, the disease was eradicated on October 26, 1977. There are no more pustules.
The third cholera pandemic (1852-1860)
Formerly concentrated at the level of the Ganges delta, cholera spread throughout India in the 19th century, transported by travelers who traveled the country. Thus in 1852, the disease ended up reaching Russia where it made more than a million deaths, then the rest of Europe where it continued its work. For your information, if you have never had cholera, the main symptoms are painful diarrhea and vomiting of clear fluids.
The Great Plague in London (1665)
Brought by ships from the Netherlands, the bubonic plague killed 20% of the population of London during the winter of 1664-1665, or nearly 100,000 people. Another joy, the great fire of London in September 1666, which made it possible to eradicate definitively the disease since it is the most unsanitary districts of London, where the plague was most present, which were the most destroyed by the flames. Either way, we can solve the problem.
The plague of Athens (430-426 BC)
The Athens plague was not really the plague, but typhus. Caused by bacteria of the rickettsia family, very present in rodents (it is absolutely necessary to be wary of these), typhus presents fairly unpleasant symptoms such as bleeding from the gums, nosebleeds, flushing of the face, excessive fever
