00:00 Throughout the course of history, disease outbreaks have ravaged humanity,
00:03 sometimes changing the course of history, and at times, signaling the end of an entire civilization.
00:10 Here's a look at 10 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history.
00:14 Antonine Plague, AD 165-180
00:20 When soldiers returned to the Roman Empire from campaigning,
00:23 they brought back more than the spoils of victory.
00:26 The Antonine Plague, which may have been smallpox, laid waste to an army
00:30 and may have killed over 5 million people.
00:32 Many historians believe that the epidemic was first brought into the Roman Empire by
00:37 soldiers returning home after a war against Parthia.
00:41 After AD 180, instability grew throughout the Roman Empire as it experienced more civil wars
00:46 and invasions by barbarian groups. Christianity became increasingly popular in the time after
00:52 the plague occurred. Plague of Justinian, AD 541-542
00:58 The Byzantine Empire was ravaged by the Bubonic Plague, which marked the start of its decline.
01:04 The plague reoccurred periodically afterwards. Some estimates suggest that up to 10% of the
01:10 world's population died. The plague is named after the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, who reigned AD
01:16 527-565. The Black Death, AD 1346-1353
01:22 The Black Death traveled from Asia to Europe, leaving devastation in its wake.
01:27 Some estimates suggest that it wiped out over half of Europe's population. It was caused by a
01:33 strain of bacterium that was spread from fleas on infected rodents. The bodies of victims were
01:38 buried in mass graves. Cocolisli Epidemic, AD 1545-1548
01:44 The infection that caused the Cocolisli Epidemic was a form of viral hemorrhagic fever that killed
01:50 15 million inhabitants of Mexico and Central America. Among the population already weakened
01:56 by extreme drought, the disease proved to be utterly catastrophic. Cocolisli is the Aztec
02:01 word for pest. American Plagues, 16th Century
02:05 The American Plagues are a cluster of Eurasian diseases brought to the Americas by European
02:11 explorers. These illnesses, including smallpox, contributed to the collapse of the Inca and
02:16 Aztec civilizations. Some estimates suggest that 90% of the indigenous population in the
02:21 Western Hemisphere was killed off. The disease helped a Spanish force led by Hernán Cortés
02:26 conquer the Aztecs in 1519, and another Spanish force led by Francisco Pizarro to conquer the
02:32 Incas in 1532. Great Plague of London, 1665-1666
02:40 The Black Death's last major outbreak in Great Britain caused a mass exodus from London led by
02:46 King Charles II. The plague started in April 1665 and spread rapidly through the hot summer months.
02:52 Fleas from plague-infected rodents were one of the main causes of transmission.
02:56 By the time the plague ended, about 100,000 people, including 15% of the population of
03:01 London, had died. Flu Pandemic, 1889-1890
03:07 In the modern industrial age, new transport links made it easier for influenza viruses to wreak
03:12 havoc. In just a few months, the disease spanned the globe, killing 1 million people. It took just
03:17 five weeks for the epidemic to reach peak mortality. The earliest cases were reported in Russia. The
03:23 virus spread rapidly throughout St. Petersburg before quickly making its way throughout Europe
03:27 and the rest of the world, despite the fact that air travel did not yet exist.
03:32 Spanish Flu, 1918-1920 An estimated 500 million people from the
03:37 South Seas to the North Pole fell victim to Spanish Flu. One-fifth of those died,
03:42 with some indigenous communities pushed to the brink of extinction. The flu's spread and lethality
03:46 was enhanced by the cramped conditions of soldiers and poor wartime nutrition that many people were
03:51 experiencing during World War I. Despite the name Spanish Flu, the disease likely did not start in
03:57 Spain. Spain was a neutral nation during the war and did not enforce strict censorship of its press,
04:02 which could therefore freely publish early accounts of the illness. As a result, people
04:07 falsely believed the illness was specific to Spain and the name Spanish Flu stuck.
04:12 Asian Flu, 1957-1958 The Asian Flu Pandemic was another global
04:18 showing for influenza. With its roots in China, the disease claimed more than 1 million lives.
04:23 The virus that caused the pandemic was a blend of avian flu viruses. The Centers for Disease
04:29 Control and Prevention note that the disease spread rapidly and was reported in Singapore
04:33 in February 1957, Hong Kong two months later, and the coastal cities of the United States by summer.
04:39 The total death toll was more than 1.1 million worldwide, with 116,000 deaths occurring in the
04:45 United States. The AIDS Pandemic and Epidemic, 1981-Present Day
04:52 AIDS has claimed an estimated 35 million lives since it was first identified. HIV, which is the
04:57 virus that causes AIDS, likely developed from a chimpanzee virus that transferred to humans in
05:03 West Africa in the 1920s. The virus made its way around the world and AIDS was a pandemic by the
05:09 20th century. Now, about 64% of the estimated 40 million people living with human immunodeficiency
05:15 virus live in Sub-Saharan Africa. For decades, the disease had not known a cure, but medication
05:22 developed in the 1990s now allows people with the disease to experience a normal lifespan with
05:27 regular treatment. Even more encouraging, two people have been cured of HIV as early as 2020.
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