Covid-19-The-Complete-History-of-Pandemic

Covid 19: The Complete History of Pandemics 

With the outbreak of the coronavirus, the timeline takes us back in the history of the pandemic, to the period when the first pandemic struck the nation. With the harmful effects of the virus, the societies reshaped themselves most profoundly. In the course of the spread of the virus, almost millions of people got affected and died too. Many governments cracked, generations got demolished, and there has been an unprecedented change in the outlook of society. To determine the pandemic effects, the government looks at the number of people infected and the mortality rate. Here is a brief account of how the pandemic came into being. 

 

For more popular events like the history of the black month, also read:-

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What is Pandemic?

A pandemic is an epidemic of an infectious disease that spreads across widespread regions, affecting a substantial number of people. In world history, there have been numerous pandemics recorded that affected a large scale population. Some of the notable pandemics that struck the nation in the past include:- the 1918 influenza pandemic and the current COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS virus.

 

Stages of the Virus to Pandemic 

According to the World Health Organization, there is a six-classification in the process of a novel influenza virus to reach a pandemic. The stage starts with the infection of a virus to the animals, then the animals transmitting it to humans, and them the person to person transmission. The widespread infection of the people due to the virus sets the final situation of a pandemic. 

 

The Timeline of the Global Pandemics

In the history of the pandemic, the shift in the agrarian communities began with the spread of the diseases at a fatal level, during the widespread of the pandemics, malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, e.t.c. Appears during the early years. To make how the global pandemics affected the civilizations and caused high death trolls, here is a brief timeline of the same. 

 

Antonine Plague

Death toll:- 5 million, Cause:- Measles and smallpox

 

This global pandemic took place during the reign of Marcus Aurelius and swept the Romanian empire. The symptoms of the pandemic as per the physician named Galen are high fever, diarrhea, and sore throats. 

 

Plague of Justinian

Death toll:- 30-50 million, Cause:- Rats and Fleas

 

It is the first episode of the bubonic plague that affected the world on the back of the rodents. 

 

Black Death

Death toll:- 75-200 million, Cause:- Rats and Fleas

 

As per the magazine of London, Black Death was “the greatest catastrophe ever.” The Cause of black death was bubonic plague, killing over 200 million people within London.

 

New World Small Pox 

Death toll:- 25-55 million, Cause:- Variola virus

 

As per a report by the Washington Post, “80–95 percent of the Native American population was decimated within the first 100–150 years following 1492.” The new world pox brought smallpox and measles, for which the inhabitants had no immunity at all. 

 

Great Plague of London

Death toll:- 75,000 to 1,00,000, Source: Rats and Fleas

 

As per the National Archives, “the people thought impure air caused the disease and could be cleansed by smoke and heat.” The main reason for the pandemic was the rats’ attraction and fleas to the streets with rubbish and waste in the poorest regions. 

 

Yellow Fever 

Death toll:- 1,50,000, Source: Mosquitoes

 

The Cause of this pandemic was the female mosquitoes, who turned teh skin of teh sufferers yellow with the viral infection in South America and Sub-Saharan Africa. In 1793, yellow fever swept through Philadelphia, then the nation’s capital, killing roughly 10 percent of the population.

 

The 1918 Flu

Death toll:- 50 million, Source: H1N1

 

In the history of the pandemic, the recent COVID-19 virus finds the aptest relation with the 1918 flu or the Spanish Flu. The pandemic took place in Spain during the World-war 1. The Flu struck the nation twice in 1918 and 1920. Similar to the wrath of the COVID-19 virus, almost 50 million people were killed. To cut down the transmission rate, the govt took measures such as Isolation and quarantines. 

Swine Flu

Death toll:- 2,00,00, Source: H1N1

 

Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Swine Flu was the most recent disaster that took over the world. It was the amalgamation of the different flu strains that affected all the generations, young or old, on a large scale. 

 

Covid-19 Pandemic

The death toll as of now:- 3,45,700 (at the global level), Source: Coronavirus

 

The most recent and considerably the deadliest in the history of a pandemic is the Covid-19 pandemic. It is a disease caused by the infectious virus coronavirus. The main symptoms include problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, e.t.c. Covid-19 spreads through water droplets from sneezing or transmits from person to person. So, the civilians have been restricted free movements inter-city or country; everyone has to remain in quarantine and take up certain preventive measures such as:-

 

  • Covering the mouth while coughing or sneezing
  • Keeping a distance of 2m from each other
  • Masking the face always and cleaning hands frequently with soap

 

To counter the effect of the virus, all of us have been assigned to remain in the quarantine till the situation gets better. So, to upskill while at home, seek remote jobs, or learn online learning to develop the desired skills. For more information, follow up on our blogs:

 

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