KATHMANDU: The death toll from the coronavirus has climbed to 3,600 as the deadly virus has spread to 103 countries across the world.
According to international media reports, over 106,195 people have been infected with the new virus.
More than 3,097 people have died in China alone, the epicenter of the pandemic, while over 80,696 people have been infected with the virus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
As per the latest update, 233 have died in Italy, 145 in Iran and 50 in South Korea, CNN reported.
Outside of mainland China, there have been 498 deaths reported. United States has reported 19 deaths, France 16, Japan 13, Spain 10, Iraq 4 and Hong Kong, UK and Australia: 2 deaths each
Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Switzerland, Argentina, and the Netherlands have each reported one death.
Here’s a look at some of history’s worst pandemics.
Antonine Plague
The Antonine Plague was an ancient pandemic that affected Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece, and Italy and is thought to have been either Smallpox or Measles, though the true cause is still unknown. This unknown disease was brought back to Rome by soldiers returning from Mesopotamia around 165AD; unknowingly, they had spread a disease that would end up killing over 5 million people and decimating the Roman army.
Plague of Justinian
Thought to have killed perhaps half the population of Europe, the Plague of Justinian 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.
The Great Plague of London
The bubonic plague technically made its first appearance in pandemic levels in the 14th century, with The Black Death, but it surfaced for the second time in London in 1665 for the Great Plague of London, which killed 20% of London’s population, according to History.com. The death toll was so high that mass graves appeared, and thousands of cats and dogs, who were believed to be the cause of the source, were slaughtered. The outbreak eventually tapered off in 1666.
Surprisingly, the bubonic plague is still around today—sometimes occurring in rural areas in the Western United States, though it’s more common in parts of Africa and Asia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Humans typically contract the plague—which is broken down into the bubonic plague, septicemic plague, and pneumonic plague, depending on transmission—through contact with an infected flea or animal. Symptoms of the bubonic plague, in particular, include a sudden onset fever, headache, chills, weakness, and one or more swollen, tender and painful lymph nodes. Luckily, per the CDC, modern-day antibiotics are successful in treating the plague.
The Spanish Flu
The Spanish flu was an influenza pandemic that spread around the world between 1918 and 1919, according to the CDC. It was caused by an H1N1 virus, with an avian (bird) origin, though it’s unclear exactly where the virus originated. The CDC estimates that about 500 million people (or one-third of the world’s population) became infected with the virus. It ultimately caused at least 50 million deaths worldwide with about 675,000 deaths happening in the U.S.
Russian Flu
Originally the “Asiatic Flu” or “Russian Flu” as it was called, this strain was thought to be an outbreak of the Influenza A virus subtype H2N2, though recent discoveries have instead found the cause to be the Influenza A virus subtype H3N8. The first cases were observed in May 1889 in three separate and distant locations, Bukhara in Central Asia (Turkestan), Athabasca in northwestern Canada, and Greenland. Rapid population growth of the 19th century, specifically in urban areas, only helped the flu spread, and before long the outbreak had spread across the globe. Though it was the first true epidemic in the era of bacteriology and much was learned from it. In the end, the 1889-1890 Flu Pandemic claimed the lives of over a million individuals.
The Black Death
The Black Death, was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people across Europe and Asia, between 1347 to 1351. The Black Death re-surfaced in London in 1665 for the Great Plague of London, killed 20% of London’s population, in just 18-months, an estimated 100,000 people died.
Asian Flu
According to the CDC, the “Asian Flu” began in East Asia in 1957. The influenza virus was an H2N2 strain, first discovered in Singapore. From there, the virus made its way to Hong Kong and to the coastal cities in the United States. Of the 1.1 million people who died of the Asian flu worldwide, 116,000 of them were in the United States.
Hong Kong Flu
The Hong Kong flu pandemic of 1968 originated in China. Caused by an influenza A virus (H3N2), it was the third pandemic flu outbreak to occur in the 20th century, killing one million people worldwide, 100,000 in the United States.
Swine Flu
The “swine flu” occurred in 2009 with a novel influenza virus, H1N1. According to the CDC, the virus was actually first detected in the US, and spread quickly across the US and the world. Between April 12, 2009, and April 10, 2010, there were 60.8 million cases reported, 274,304 hospitalizations, and 12,469 deaths due to the virus. The CDC estimates 575,400 people died worldwide.
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, AIDS, were first discovered in the early 1980s. AIDS was first detected in American gay communities but it’s thought to have developed from a chimpanzee virus from Africa in the 1920s. According to the World Health Organization, 75 million people have been infected with the virus since it was discovered, resulting in 32 million deaths worldwide. An estimated 38,000 new HIV infections still happen in the U.S. each year.
(with inputs from Agencies)
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