Notable Pandemics in History

Epidemics and Pandemics
While disease has affected humans since the beginning of time, it wasnt until people began gathering in larger
populations that infections began to reach epidemic levels. An epidemic happens when an infection (caused by
a bacteria or virus) affects a large number of people within a given population, such as a city or geographic area.
If it affects even greater numbers and a wider area, these outbreaks become pandemics.
Pandemics
1300s - The Black Death
Brought to Europe from the Far East via infected fleas that were riding on the backs of ship rats, the Black
Death (also known as the Bubonic Plague) would go on to wipe out over 20 million people. That figure
represents one-third of the population. Fear gripped the continent as people began falling victim to the disease
in increasing numbers. People did not understand how the disease was spread or how to treat it. To make
matters worse, the gruesome nature of the illness added to the hysteriathe infected displayed the diseases
trademark black boils, which oozed blood and pus.
Symptoms: Chills, fever, vomiting, aches and pains, along with hard, painful, burning lumps on the body that
turn black, split open and ooze pus and blood.
Caused by: Yersinia pestis bacteria
Does it still exist? There are 1,000 to 3,000 cases worldwide each year, including 10 to 15 cases in the United
States. Due to improved sanitation, the disease is not likely to spread the way it did in the 1300s. The Bubonic
Plague is now treatable with antibiotics, and a vaccine is also available.
Ancient time through 1970s Smallpox
An astounding 300 million deaths were attributed to smallpox outbreaks during the 20th century alone. That
figure certainly would have been greater were it not for the revolutionary work of a physician named Edward
Jenner. Jenner realized that people who had already contracted cow pox did not contract smallpox. In 1796, he
injected cow pox into an eight-year-old boy to test his theory. When the boy was proven to have been
successfully inoculated, Jenner had created the worlds first vaccine. After successful vaccination campaigns
throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, in 1979 the World Health Organization certified that smallpox had been
eliminated.
Symptoms: Fever, fatigue, aches and pains, along with red lesions (sores) that become filled with pus, then crust
and scab.
Caused by: The variola virus
Does it still exist? Due to the success of vaccination campaigns, the disease was wiped out.
1918-1919 Spanish (Avian) Flu
It may be hard to believe, but the flu killed nearly 40 million people at one point in history. In that 12-month
period, more people succumbed to the flu than lost their lives in World War I, leading many to consider it the
most devastating pandemics in all of recorded history.
Symptoms: Fever, nausea, aches, diarrhea and sometimes severe pneumonia. Victims show dark spots on the
cheeks and turn blue, suffocating as their lungs fill with a frothy, bloody substance.
Caused by: A virus in the H1N1 family
Does it still exist? Different forms of the virus still exist, but scientists are not worried that this particular
version will make a comeback.
1980s to today - AIDS

By the end of 2004, 20 million people had died from HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Aquired
Immunodeficiency Virus (AIDS). Nine out of 10 people living with HIV live in the developing world; 60 to 70
percent of those are in Sub-Saharan Africa. But the disease is spreading in every region, including India, China,
Russia and the islands of the Caribbean. Since the epidemic began, an estimated 1,129,127 people in the U.S.
have been diagnosed with AIDS, and an estimated 48,000 Americans become infected with HIV each year.
Symptoms: Possible flulike symptoms at the time of HIV infection, and after 5 to 15 years left untreated (at
which point the person develops AIDS), multiple, life-threatening illnesses such as rare cancers, pneumonia,
fungal conditions, tuberculosis and other infections.
Caused by: Human Immunodeficiency Virus, a retrovirus that attacks the cells of the immune system
Does it still exist? Due to increased awareness, prevention efforts and treatment options, the U.S. incidence of
AIDS is lower than that in some other countries. HIV/AIDS does, however, remain a top public health concern,
and the disease is of particular concern on a global scale.
1. Whats the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic?
2. Name a pandemic from history. What caused (causes) it, and what are its symptoms?
3. What medical knowledge and science do we have now (that we didnt have at the time when these
pandemics began) that can help prevent these serious diseases?
The immune system and vaccines

The human immune system uses white blood cells to defend the body from harmful intrudersviruses and
bacteria, also known as antigens. The white blood cells make antibodies specific to each intruder. The
antibodies destroy the intruders or help white blood cells destroy them. Get a basic rundown of the immune
system here.
Vaccines, special medicines developed to fight specific bacteria or viruses, help the body produce antibodies to
attack dangerous intruders. A vaccine contains a dead or weakened version of an antigen. Because the germ has
been killed or weakened before it is used to make the vaccine, it doesn't make the person sick. Instead, the body
reacts to the vaccine by making antibodies.
1. How does the human immune system work?
2. Define the following: white blood cells, antigens, antibodies, vaccines
3. How do vaccines work?

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Notable Pandemics in History

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Epidemics and Pandemics

1980s to today - AIDS

The immune system and vaccines

2. Define the following: white blood cells, antigens, antibodies, vaccines

3. How do vaccines work?

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