John Snow came to the conclusion that cholera was spreading via tainted water and decided to display neighborhood mortality data directly on a map. One of the first instances of relying on geography and statistical analysis was in mid-19th century London, during a cholera outbreak. Cautious port authorities required ships arriving in Venice from infected ports to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing - the origin of the word quarantine from the Italian “quaranta giorni”, or 40 days. The practice of quarantine began during the 14th century, in an effort to protect coastal cities from plague epidemics. Luckily, humanity’s understanding of the causes of disease has improved, and this is resulting in a drastic improvement in the response to modern pandemics, albeit slow and incomplete. Some historians found that this event could have dashed Emperor Justinian’s efforts to reunite the Western and Eastern remnants of the Roman Empire, and marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. In the case of Justinian’s plague, the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea traced the origins of the plague (the Yersinia pestis bacteria) to China and northeast India, via land and sea trade routes to Egypt where it entered the Byzantine Empire through Mediterranean ports.ĭespite his apparent knowledge of the role geography and trade played in this spread, Procopius laid blame for the outbreak on the Emperor Justinian, declaring him to be either a devil, or invoking God’s punishment for his evil ways. This unscientific perception often led to disastrous responses that resulted in the deaths of thousands, if not millions.
In many ancient societies, people believed that spirits and gods inflicted disease and destruction upon those that deserved their wrath.
MaUpdate: Due to popular request, we’ve also visualized how the death tolls of each pandemic stack up as a share of total estimated global populations at the time. Healthcare improvements and understanding the factors that incubate pandemics have been powerful tools in mitigating their impact. Some, such as the Plague of Justinian and Swine Flu, are subject to debate based on new evidence.ĭespite the persistence of disease and pandemics throughout history, there’s one consistent trend over time – a gradual reduction in the death rate. Note: Many of the death toll numbers listed above are best estimates based on available research. Here are some of the major pandemics that have occurred over time: Nameīelieved to be either smallpox or measlesĬoronavirus – Unknown (possibly pangolins)Ħ.9M (Johns Hopkins University estimate as of March 1, 2023) The more civilized humans became – with larger cities, more exotic trade routes, and increased contact with different populations of people, animals, and ecosystems – the more likely pandemics would occur. Malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, influenza, smallpox, and others first appeared during these early years. Widespread trade created new opportunities for human and animal interactions that sped up such epidemics. However, it was not until the marked shift to agrarian communities that the scale and spread of these diseases increased dramatically. A Timeline of Historical Pandemicsĭisease and illnesses have plagued humanity since the earliest days, our mortal flaw. Today’s visualization outlines some of history’s most deadly pandemics, from the Antonine Plague to the current COVID-19 event.
Even in this modern era, outbreaks are nearly constant, though not every outbreak reaches pandemic level as COVID-19 has. ic /panˈdemik/ (of a disease) prevalent over a whole country or the world.Īs humans have spread across the world, so have infectious diseases.
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