Pandemics in the Past

It is now known that pandemics have the potential to change the course of humanity forever. Humans have witnessed more deadly pandemics in the past, when technological advancements in the field of medicine were seen unnecessary, than the one that we are currently facing. These pandemics often end civilizations, collapse economy, and become the cause of thousands of deaths. They are a bigger challenge than war, and as they become difficult to contain, the authorities slowly succumb to it. Let\’s have a look at the four deadliest pandemics that changed the course of humanity forever.

The Black Death

Black death, by far the deadliest pandemic in history, originated somewhere in Asia in the 14th century. It reached Crimea by the late 1340s and from there the plague spread throughout Europe and North Africa. The plague was carried by fleas that lived on and infected rats. The first outbreak of the bacterial disease wiped out almost 75 to 200 million people, or close to two-thirds of Europe\’s population then, while the recurring waves kept on affecting the parts of the world for centuries. It is surprising to learn that social distancing was also practiced at that time. Some cities were successfully able to distance themselves from others.

This pandemic caused massive upheavals in European society. From local parishioners leading religious processions to ask their god for help to people coming out on the streets to whip themselves, almost everything was tried by the people to get rid of this deadly disease.

The 1918 Flu

This flu is one of the deadliest influenza pandemics humanity has ever witnessed. It is often referred to by the misnomer \”The Spanish Flu\” because Spain was the only country at that time that did not censor its newspapers to report the spread of the disease. This pandemic is overshadowed by world war 1, but it would have killed more people, close to 100 million, than the war itself. Like the ongoing scenario with COVID-19, countries committed several mistakes that led to the massive outbreak. Philadelphia had a parade amid the pandemic and had one of the highest death rates per capita. 

Local newspapers a century ago gave an accurate account of the numbers associated with the pandemic, unlike the case with COVID-19, probably because the countries were more united at that time.

The Justinianic Plague

Fifteen hundred years ago, when the Byzantine empire was rising to dominance under Emperor Justinian I, this plague struck the city of Constantinople. Although caused by the same bacteria as the black death, the Justinianic plague was not as devastating. The war with the Sassanid Empire was also put to a temporary halt, and the emperor himself got infected with the disease.

The disease spread to other cities as well, and thousands of people fled these infected cities. The political pandering also occurred then. The mortality rate of the disease was under or over-reported by the people based on whether they supported the emperor or not.

The First Cholera Pandemic

This pandemic is also referred to as Asiatic Cholera Pandemic or, simply, Asiatic Cholera. It is known to have originated in the city of Calcutta in 1817. Although the mortality rate was not so high, the reach of it was phenomenal. It began in British India and spread throughout southeast Asia to the Middle East, Eastern Africa, and the Mediterranean Coast over time and affected almost every country in Asia.

At the time, the opinions of the scientists differed as to what is the cause of this disease, but the medical community now believes cholera to be an exclusively human disease transmitted through warm fecal contaminated river waters and contaminated food.