Human civilization has been shaped by pandemics throughout history. Although the ongoing coronavirus epidemic is causing much devastation around the world, history tells us that such pandemics are not really unusual.
In this article, we will note similarities between the current pandemic and previous ones, based on information collected from an article by Medical News Today.
HIV
While it is easy to forget that experts still class HIV as a pandemic, the disease has claimed the lives of more than 32 million people since the early 1980s.
HIV’s chief difference from Covid-19 is that it cannot transmit via coughs and sneezes, although HIV is also caused by a virus. Comparatively, Covid-19 spreads through communities much more easily.
Another important difference is that there are currently no drugs that can treat or prevent Covid-19. Even though there is no vaccine for HIV, there are treatments that enable HIV patients to live long and healthy lives.
H1N1 swine flu
The swine flu pandemic affected an estimated 60.8 million people between April 2009 and April 2010, causing 12,469 deaths, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Both swine flu and Covid-19 cause symptoms such as fever, chills, a cough, and headaches.
However, some older adults seemed to have immunity of H1N1, suggesting that something similar might have infected large numbers of people a few decades before. No such immunity has been observed for the coronavirus thus far.
Cholera
Over the past two centuries, cholera has reached pandemic proportions seven times.
Although immediate re-hydration treatment is successful in up to 80% of Cholera cases, the mortality rate can be up to 50% without treatment, which is many times higher than even the highest estimates of Covid-19.
Hand-washing is essential for stopping the spread of cholera, just as it is for Covid-19. However, to prevent cholera, access to safe water and good food hygiene are just as important.
The Spanish flu
The Spanish flu infected an estimated 500 million people between January 1918 and December 1920, killing approximately 50 million of them.
As with Covid-19, older adults were most at risk of developing severe symptoms. However, in stark contrast to Covid-19, the Spanish flu also impacted children under the age of 5 and adults aged 20 to 40.
In fact, a 25-year-old was more likely to die from the Spanish flu than a 74-year-old was.
Covid-19 generally has minor effects on children. Adults aged 20 to 40 are significantly less likely to develop severe symptoms than older adults.
The Black Death
Peaking in Europe between 1347 and 1351, the Black Death was responsible for an estimated 75–200 million deaths. The disease caused numerous outbreaks, killing off sizeable chunks of infected populations each time.
This pandemic was caused by a bacterium, called Yersinia pestis, rather than a virus.
Like Covid-19, plague transmits via respiratory droplets. However, the Black Death spread across the planet through movement of rodents rather than the movement of humans.