2. Introduction
There have been various disease outbreaks(pandemics) around the world. These
diseases usually spread from animals to humans. The pandemics have claimed
millions of lives throughout history. As the medicine field has excelled, we have
been able to control these pandemics and not let it get worse.
Some pandemics that have happened throughout history are: Plague of Athens,
three major plague outbreaks, various Flu outbreaks like the Russian Flu and the
Spanish Flu, etc. In the current situation, we are also going through a pandemic
named COVID-19
We are going to discuss these pandemics and the measures that were taken to
combat them.
3. Plague of Athens
The Plague of Athens started around 430 BC. It
emerged in Ethiopia and spread throughout the
Mediterranean Basin. As Athens was densely
populated and the hygienic conditions were
poor, the Plague became worse and killed 25-
30% of the population of Athens.
4. Plague of Justinian
The Plague of Justinian started in 541 AD. This
was the first major plague pandemic in History.
It started in Central Asia. It is linked to a
bacteria that infected small mammals, mainly
rats and fleas. It was transmitted to humans via
these mammal’s bites and spread via land and
sea trade routes. It claimed between 30-100
million lives over two centuries.
5. Black Death
The Black Death started in the year 1346 and
lasted till 1353. This was the second major
plague pandemic in History. It possibly
originated from Asia and was likely spread
through trade routes. It was caused by
bacterium Yersinia pestis and was passed on
from rodents to humans by the bite of infected
fleas. It killed upto 25-200 million people in
Eurasia and North Africa.
6. Third Plague Pandemic
The Third Plague Pandemic started in 1855.
This was the third and the last major plague
pandemic in History. It started in Yunnan,
China. The increased transportation
throughout the region brought people in
contact with the rat-infected fleas. It spread to
all inhabited continents. It killed 12 million
people in China and India alone.
7. The Russian Flu
The Russian Flu started in 1889. It originated
in the Russian Empire and had spread
throughout the Northern Hemisphere in just
four months. The spread of the flu was
promoted by the modern transport system. It
claimed about a million lives worldwide.
8. The Spanish Flu
The Spanish Flu started in the year 1918 and
lasted till early summer of 1919. The first case
was reported in USA. It was gradually spread
worldwide. This pandemic had 4 waves and the
second wave was the deadliest. It was caused
by an H1N1 virus. It has an estimate of 50
million deaths
9. COVID-19 Pandemic
The world is going through a pandemic nowadays
named COVID-19. It was first reported in Wuhan,
China in 2019 and was spread worldwide in a small
amount of time. It is caused by the SARS-CoV-2
virus which is in the family of the coronaviruses.
Till date, this pandemic has reported *9.1 million
cases and more than *472,000 deaths.
*These numbers will keep changing
10. The measures taken to combat these
Pandemics
At the time of Plague of Athens and Justinian, people did not know what caused such
diseases so they used vinegar and water to treat the patients. The Black Death was
controlled by implementing quarantines.
During the Spanish Flu, people were told to wear masks but there were no lockdowns.
As an improvement in medicine, doctors have been able to control the ongoing
pandemic(COVID-19) to some extent. Nationwide lockdown has been imposed,
people are being kept in quarantine. Scientists are trying their best to make a vaccine.
[Quarantine actually means 40 days in the Venetian language. (Quaranta-forty, Quarantina-forty
days)]
