Pandemics throughout history

The corona is not the only plague that plagues the world, millions of people have died from severe infectious diseases throughout history, and some of them have remained an enigma for scientists to this day.

Throughout the history of the world, most people have died from infectious diseases that have spread at an unbearable rate. However, in the past, infections spread more slowly than is the case today, and the reason is population density. The history of action is very long, and the first major epidemics were recorded in the distant past.

Athenian plague (430 BC)

The plague of Athens was adopted as the name for the epidemic of this contagious disease that broke out during the second year of the Peloponnesian War, in the city-state of Athens in ancient Greece, while the city was under siege by the Spartans.

Foto: Profimedia

According to the estimates of medical historians, about a third of the inhabitants of the city and its surroundings died from this disease. Part of historians use the Athenian plague to mark the period of the end of the Golden Age of Athens, because it considered the plague to be the reason that Athens lost not only the Peloponnesian War, but also its influence in this area as the dominant force among Greek polises.

Symptoms: Fever, swollen throat and tongue, red skin and tissue damage and changes.

Black Death (1347 - 1351)

It ravaged Europe in the Middle Ages, taking the lives of 75-200 million people, or a third of the then European population. Most scientists believe that the Black Death was a plague pandemic, while some believe that it was a virus similar to Ebola. An analysis of the ancient DNA of the victims of the disease in Europe determined that the responsible pathogen is the bacterium Yersinia pestis.

Foto: Profimedia/ilustracija

The Black Death originated in China in 1334, and then slowly spread to the west. In 1346 it reached Egypt, Syria and then Crimea, and in 1347 it reached Constantinople, Sicily and then southern Europe. In 1348 it reached France, the Netherlands, Germany and England, and in 1349 it reached Scandinavia and Russia.

Symptoms: They occurred 2 to 5 days after exposure to the bacteria. Symptoms began abruptly with fever and fever up to 41o C. The heartbeat became rapid and weak, and blood pressure dropped slightly.

The Great Plague in London - The Bubonic Plague (1665)

The plague that killed more than a quarter of the population of London in 1665 and 1666 was the last major outbreak of bubonic plague in Great Britain. It took a year to confirm the discoveries from the funeral pit, which was supposed to be the location where the plague victims were buried, and which is located in Liverpool Street.

Foto: Profimedia

- Few people who become infected survive, but there have been such cases. The plague was reportedly very easily transmitted from person to person, although we are still not sure how it happened - said Vanessa Harding, a history professor at the University of London, adding that all measures were taken then to limit the spread of the plague, but that they were best yet those who fled London passed.

Symptoms: In addition to sensitive, enlarged lymph glands, which can be egg-sized, symptoms include fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and fatigue. Plague can also affect the lungs, causing coughing, chest pain and difficulty breathing.

Cholera (1817)

The first of seven cholera pandemics in the next 150 years broke out in Russia, where a million people died. The bacterium was transmitted through water contaminated with feces and food, transmitted to British soldiers who then brought it to India, where a million people died. Given the size of the British Empire and the activities of its fleet, cholera spread to Spain, Africa, Indonesia, China, Japan, Italy, Germany and the United States, where another 150,000 people died.

Foto: Profimedia

According to some estimates, 3-5 million people worldwide were susceptible to cholera at that time, and it caused 28,800-130,000 deaths a year. Although currently classified as pandemic, it is rare in the developed world. The children were mostly affected. Cholera appeared as an epidemic and as a chronic disease in some areas. Areas with a persistent risk of disease include Africa and Southeast Asia. The cholera vaccine was found in 1885, but the pandemic appeared several more times.

Symptoms: May be manifested by a mild, uncomplicated episode of diarrhea; or it can be a fulminant, potentially deadly disease. The initial symptoms are usually sudden, painless watery diarrhea and vomiting. The consequence of severe loss of water and electrolytes leads to strong thirst, oliguria, muscle cramps, weakness and significantly weakened skin turgor with inflamed eyes and wrinkled skin on the fingers.

Spanish Fever (1918)

During the three waves of Spanish flu or Spanish flu in 1918 and 1919, experts estimated that between 50 and 100 million people died worldwide. Direct comparisons between the pandemic then and today do not work today: the world did not know then why people die. Viruses as pathogens were discovered only in 1933.

The virus was deadly because the immunity of many people was weak due to malnutrition caused by the circumstances of the war. The drug penicillin was not found until 1928, so in 1918 there was no drug to stop bacterial infections in a weakened organism, which led to fatal pneumonia. Chroniclers note that, for example, people in the United States fell ill overnight and died in the morning on the way to work. According to the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Spanish fever was deadly and was manifested by rapid and serious lung damage.

Symptoms: A few hours after feeling the first symptoms, extreme fatigue, fever and headache occurred, and the victims would turn blue. Sometimes the blue color would become so pronounced that it was difficult to determine the original color of the patient's skin. Patients would have had such a strong cough that some even tore their abdominal muscles. Foam and blood rushed from his mouth and nose. Some also bled from their ears, some vomited, and others could not control their behavior

SARS (2002-2003)

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) is a contagious disease that was first observed in November 2002 in the Chinese province of Guangdong, and has become more widespread since early February 2003 due to a growing number of patients in Hong Kong, Singapore. Vietnam, Taiwan and Bangkok, half of whom were health workers who cared for the sick.

After several months of research, it is now known that severe acute respiratory syndrome is etiologically associated with the new, hitherto unknown, SARS-CoV (SARS-associated Coronavirus). Evidence of SARS-CoV infection has been found in SARS patients in several countries (serological or RT-PCR positivity, increase in virus on cultures).

Symptoms: Sudden and rapidly rising, high temperature (over 38 ° C), inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa with cough and hoarseness, shortness of breath, muscle aches, headache.

Avian Influenza (2003-2007)

Avian influenza is a contagious bird disease caused by certain strains of influenzavirus A (some other strains of the virus cause human flu epidemics). Influenza virus is extremely variable and subject to constant genetic changes (mutations and gene changes between strains), so it appears in a large number of subtypes and strains, of which only a small number leads to severe disease in birds. One such pathogenic strain (subtype H5N1) was first recorded in 1997 in Hong Kong and has since spread to much of Asia and Eastern Europe.

Foto: Profimedia

The total number of birds that died from the flu or were killed to prevent the spread of the infection is estimated at around 120 million.

Symptoms: Incubation and symptoms are similar to those of the human influenza type. Incubation in adult patients lasts 7 days, while in children it takes 21 days. The death rate (lethality) in human flu is below 0.05%, unless it is a large and severe pandemic with a new type of virus, and in bird flu as much as 30 to 70%.

Swine flu (2009)

Swine flu is a highly contagious disease caused by different strains of the flu virus. The prevalence of this disease is high among pigs, but only 1-4% of cases end in death. Outbreaks among pigs are relatively common and mainly occur in autumn and winter, so a large number of countries carry out routine vaccination.

Sometimes the infection can be transmitted from animals to humans, so occasionally cases of human disease have been reported. Of the three genera of influenza viruses (Orthomyxoviridae) endemic to humans, two are also endemic to pigs: influenza A virus and influenza B virus.

Symptoms: The symptoms of swine flu (H1N1) are very similar to the symptoms of the common flu. In many cases, diarrhea (diarrhea) and vomiting occur as a symptom of swine flu, and cases of pneumonia have been reported.

Ebola (2013-2016)

It is one of at least 30 known viral diseases and one of four life-threatening quarantine hemorrhagic fevers, with a high mortality rate. As the virus can remain in the ejaculate of Ebola patients for up to three months, it can also be considered a sexually transmitted disease.

This dangerous human disease is caused by ebolaviruses which are currently classified into five separate species: Zaire (EBOV), Sudan (SUDV), Bundibugijo (BDBV), Forest (TAFV) and Reston (RESTV)] and are all endemic in Africa except the Restor strain which is also endemic in parts of Southeast Asia and China. The immunopathogenesis of Ebola is complex and requires serious research. Severe forms of the disease are accompanied by numerous complications, multiple organic failure of functions and signs of septic shock. Mortality ranges from 55% to 75%, sometimes more.

Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, along with decreased liver and kidney function. which can lead to bleeding.

COVID-19 virus (pandemic of the modern world)

Coronavirus disease in 2019, recognized by the abbreviation kovid 19 or COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019), is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome virus corona 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease has spread worldwide since 2019, leading to the coronary virus pandemic 2019/20.

The disease is still unexplored.

Symptoms: Muscle pain, sputum production and sore throat. In most cases, mild symptoms occur. On the other hand, more severe symptoms include pneumonia and organ failure.