Christian History timeline: Plague and epidemic throughout history

[Policemen in Seattle wearing masks made by the Red Cross, during the influenza epidemic. December 1918.—[Public domain] Wikimedia]



Plague of Cyprian

Where: Roman Empire

When: c. 250–270 

Cause: Unknown—possibly Ebola or smallpox

How many died (estimate): 1 million



Plague of Justinian

Where: Eastern Roman Empire

When: 541–542, with later waves until 750

Cause: Yersinia pestis bacterium

How many died (estimate): 30 to 50 million



Black Death

Where: Europe, Asia, Africa

When: 1347–1351, with later waves especially through 1671 (including the Great Plague of London); as late as 1925 in some places

Cause: Yersinia pestis bacterium

How many died (estimate): 200 million 



Smallpox 

Where: Worldwide; origins unclear

When: Emerged around 1600

(possibly much earlier) with recurrences up through the twentieth century

Cause: Variola major and Variola minor, two strains of virus

How many died (estimate): 56 million



Cholera

Where: Worldwide, beginning in India

When: Seven pandemics between 1817 and 1961; still exists in some places

Cause: Vibrio cholerae bacterium

How many died (estimate): 1 million



Yellow fever

Where: Worldwide, beginning in Africa

When: 1647 through the early twentieth century, including famed US epidemic in 1793

Cause: Virus spread through mosquito bites

How many died (estimate): 150,000



Scarlet fever

Where: Worldwide, beginning in Africa or the Middle East

When: Periodic outbreaks from sixteenth through nineteenth centuries; worst ones from 1820 through 1880

Cause: Group A streptococcus bacterium

How many died (estimate): 

Tens of thousands



Leprosy (Hansen’s disease)

Where: Worldwide, beginning in Africa or the Middle East

When: Periodic outbreaks from ancient times; identified officially in the 1800s

Cause: M. leprae bacterium

How many died (estimate): Unknown



1918 “Spanish” flu

Where: Worldwide, beginning in Europe and the United States

When: 1918 through 1920 in four waves

Cause: H1N1 influenza A virus

How many died (estimate): 40 to 50 million



Polio

Where: Worldwide, especially Europe and the United States

When: Existed from ancient times; outbreaks especially bad from 1900 through 1950

Cause: Poliovirus

How many died (estimate): 50,000



HIV/AIDS

Where: Worldwide, beginning in Africa

When: 1980s–present (probably existed as early as 1920)

Cause: Human

immuno-deficiency virus

How many died (estimate): 32 million



Swine flu

Where: Worldwide

When: 2009–2010

Cause: H1N1 influenza A virus

How many died (estimate): 200,000



COVID-19

Where: Worldwide, beginning in China

When: Present

Cause: SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

How many died (estimate): 502,700 as of June 30, 2020

By The editors

[Christian History originally published this article in Christian History Issue #135 in 2020]

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