Pandemics that Trembled the World Aside Coronavirus
World Pandemics
Mike T. Assoh Esq, Acrb (uk), Acfe
assohmike@gmail.com-08036934648 (sms only)
According to World Health Organization (WHO) the past two decades have witnessed changes in how humans live. Travel and trade, rapid urbanization, limited access to health care as well as environmental degradation and other trends all create the conditions for epidemics to thrive and grow. At the same time, the science and knowledge around infectious hazards are constantly evolving, demanding better response to health emergencies.
In the beginning of December 2019, the region of Wuhan, China, saw a new Coronavirus which began appearing in human beings. It is nicknamed “COVID-19,” a shortened form of “Coronavirus disease of 2019.” Nevertheless much as the COVID-19 has become a thorn in the flesh of medical and Public Health Experts there have been other pandemics like Cholera, bubonic plague, smallpox, and influenza that nearly consumed generations across the world. Therefore the outbreaks of these diseases across international borders, are properly defined as pandemics especially smallpox which killed between 300-500 million people in its 12,000 year existence.
Before the advent of modern civilization, the Antonine Plague was known as the Plague of Galen, the Antonine Plague was an ancient pandemic that affected Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece, and Italy and is believed to have been either Smallpox or Measles, although the true cause remain unknown. This unknown pandemic was brought back to Rome by soldiers returning from Mesopotamia around 165AD; unknowingly, they had spread a disease which would end up killing over 5 million people and weakening the Roman army. Similarly, the Plague of Justinian between (541-542) was an outbreak of the bubonic plague that afflicted the Byzantine Empire and Mediterranean port cities, killing up to 25 million people in its year long reign of terror. Generally regarded as the first recorded incident of the Bubonic Plague, the Plague of Justinian left its mark on the world, killing up to a quarter of the population of the Eastern Mediterranean and devastating the city of Constantinople, where at its height it was killing an estimated 5,000 people per day and eventually resulting in the deaths of 40% of the city’s population. So the history of pandemic has been with man from time immemorial. As highlighted in the introductory statement above. In spite of advancement in science and technology in the modern era, certain pandemics have claimed lives to an unimaginable height. Seven of these are listed here. These are not by any means all that is in history.
HIV/AIDS Pandemic (1976 to date)
HIV/AIDS Pandemic was at its peak, 2005-2012 when there was low drug research and the mortality rate was high with an estimation of 24.7 million 23.5–26.1 million people living with the virus in sub- Saharan Africa, nearly 71% of the global total. Countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe account for 81% of all people living with HIV in the region and half of those are in only two countries. Nigeria and South Africa in spite of improvement in the area of treatment, it is estimated that 19% of AIDS related deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa happened in Nigeria. Nigeria is among the 3 countries contributing 48% of the new HIV burden in the Sub-Saharan Africa, others include South Africa and Uganda. Since the first identification in Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976, HIV/AIDS has killed more than 36 million people.
Flu Pandemic (1968)
The Flu pandemic sometimes referred to as “the Hong Kong Flu,” the 1968 flu pandemic was caused by the H3N2 strain of the Influenza A virus, a genetic offshoot of the H2N2 subtype. From the first reported case on July 13, 1968 in Hong Kong, it took only 17 days before outbreaks of the virus were reported in Singapore and Vietnam, and within three months had spread to The Philippines, India, Australia, Europe, and the United States. While the 1968 pandemic had a comparatively low mortality rate (.5%) it still resulted in the deaths of more than a million people, including 500,000 residents of Hong Kong, approximately 15% of its population at that time.
Asian flu (1956-1958)
Asian flu was a pandemic Influenza A of the H2N2 subtype that originated in China in 1956 and lasted until 1958. In its two-year spree, Asian Flu traveled from the Chinese province of Guizhou to Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United States. Estimates for the death toll of the Asian Flu vary depending on the source, but the World Health Organization places the final tally at approximately 2 million deaths, 69,800 of those in the US alone.
Flu Pandemic (1918-1920)
Between 1918 and 1920 a disturbingly deadly outbreak of influenza tore across the globe, infecting over a third of the world’s population and ending the lives of 20 – 50 million people. Of the 500 million people infected in the 1918 pandemic, the mortality rate was estimated at 10% to 20%, with up to 25 million deaths in the first 25 weeks alone.
Sixth Cholera Pandemic (1910-1911)
The Sixth Cholera Pandemic originated in India where it killed over 800,000, before spreading to the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia. The Sixth Cholera Pandemic was also the source of the last American outbreak of Cholera (1910–1911). American health authorities, having learned from the past, quickly sought to isolate the infected, and in the end only 11 deaths occurred in the U.S. By 1923 Cholera cases had been cut down dramatically, although it was still a constant in India
Third Cholera Pandemic (1852–1860)
This is a major outbreak of Cholera in the 19th century which lasted from 1852 to 1860. Like the first and second pandemics, the Third Cholera Pandemic originated in India, spreading from the Ganges River Delta before tearing through Asia, Europe, North America and Africa and ending the lives of over a million people.
The Black Death Plague (1346-1353)
This ravaged Europe, Africa, and Asia, with an estimated death toll between 75 and 200 million people. These and many more are some of the pandemics that have ravaged the world as COVID -19 is not the first of its kind.
Scientists and researchers have not relented in the course of containing pandemics. The expectation is that with advancement in information communication technology, awareness creation is easier. As at today, health experts have all agreed that prevention is better that cure. All over the world, governments through the relevant agencies like Ministries of Health via National Centre for Disease Control have continued to issue safety measures. If these guidelines are followed as experience has shown, Covid 19 will be contained earlier than projections might direct.
