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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When plague struck Zurich, Zwingli hurried home from vacation to tend the sick but soon contracted the disease himself.
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