This article is a list of epidemics of infectious disease. Widespread and chronic complaints such as heart disease and allergy are not included if they are not thought to be infectious.
Death toll (estimate) | Location | Date | Article | Disease | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greece | Plague of Athens | unknown, possibly typhus | [1] | ||
Europe, Western Asia, Northern Africa | Antonine Plague | unknown, symptoms similar to smallpox | [2] | ||
Europe | Plague of Cyprian | unknown, possibly smallpox | [3] | ||
Europe, Egypt, West Asia | Plague of Justinian | plague | [4] | ||
Rome | Roman Plague of 590 | plague | [5] | ||
Ctesiphon, Persia | plague | [6] | |||
British Isles | Plague of 664 | plague | [7] | ||
British Isles | plague | [7] | |||
Japan | Smallpox | [8][9] | |||
Byzantine Empire, West Asia, Africa | plague | [10] | |||
Europe, Asia and North Africa | 1331–1353 | Black Death | plague | [11] |
Death toll (estimate) | Location | Date | Article | Disease | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mexico | 1545–1548 | Cocoliztli Epidemic of 1545–1548 | Possibly Salmonella enterica | [12][13][14][15] | |
Mexico | 1576 | Cocoliztli epidemic of 1576 | Possibly Salmonella enterica | [12][13][14][15] | |
Seneca nation | 1592–1596 | measles | [16] | ||
Spain | 1596–1602 | plague | [17] | ||
South America | 1600–1650 | malaria | |||
England | 1603 | London | plague | ||
Egypt | 1609 | plague | |||
30–90% of population | Southern New England, especially the Wampanoag people | 1616–1619 | Unknown cause. Latest research suggests epidemic(s) of leptospirosis with Weil syndrome. Classic explanations include yellow fever, bubonic plague, influenza, smallpox, chickenpox, typhus, and syndemic infection of hepatitis B and hepatitis D. | [18][19] | |
Italy | 1629–1631 | Italian plague of 1629–1631 | plague | [20] | |
Wyandot people | 1630 | in Ontario | smallpox | ||
Thirteen Colonies | 1633 | Plymouth Colony | smallpox | ||
Thirteen Colonies | 1634 | Connecticut River area | smallpox | ||
England | 1636 | Newcastle | plague | ||
China | 1641–1644 | helped end the Ming Dynasty | plague | [21] | |
Spain | 1647–1652 | Great Plague of Seville | plague | ||
South America | 1648 | yellow fever | |||
Italy | 1656 | Naples | plague | ||
Thirteen Colonies | 1657 | Boston, Massachusetts | measles | ||
24,148[22] | Netherlands | 1663–1664 | Amsterdam | plague | |
Template:Sortkey[23] | England | 1665–1666 | Great Plague of London | plague | [24] |
40,000 | France | 1668 | plague | ||
Spain | 1676–1685 | plague | |||
76,000 | Austria | 1679 | Great Plague of Vienna | plague | |
Thirteen Colonies | 1687 | Boston, Massachusetts | measles | ||
Thirteen Colonies | 1690 | New York City | yellow fever |
Death toll (estimate) | Location | Date | Article | Disease | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Canada , New France | 1702–1703 | smallpox | [25] | ||
Sweden | 1710–1712 | Great Northern War plague outbreak | plague | ||
Thirteen Colonies | 1713 | Boston, Massachusetts | measles | ||
Thirteen Colonies | 1713–1715 | New England and the Great Lakes | measles | ||
Canada , New France | 1714–1715 | measles | [26] | ||
France | 1720–1722 | Great Plague of Marseille | plague | [27] | |
Thirteen Colonies | 1721–1722 | Boston, Massachusetts | smallpox | [28] | |
Thirteen Colonies | 1729 | Boston, Massachusetts | measles | ||
Spain | 1730 | Cadiz | yellow fever | ||
Thirteen Colonies | 1732–1733 | influenza | [29] | ||
Canada , New France | 1733 | smallpox | [30] | ||
> 50,000 | Balkans | 1738 | Great Plague of 1738 | plague | |
Thirteen Colonies | 1738 | South Carolina | smallpox | ||
Thirteen Colonies | 1739–1740 | Boston, Massachusetts | measles | ||
Italy | 1743 | Messina | plague | ||
Thirteen Colonies | 1747 | CT, NY, PA, SC | measles | ||
North America | 1755–1756 | smallpox | |||
North America | 1759 | measles | |||
North America, West Indies | 1761 | influenza | |||
North America, present-day Pittsburgh area. | 1763 | Native American victims of biological warfare during the Siege of Fort Pitt, part of the French and Indian War. | Smallpox | ||
> 50,000 | Russia | 1770–1772 | Russian plague of 1770–1772 | plague | |
Pacific Northwest natives | 1770s | smallpox | [31] | ||
North America | 1772 | measles | |||
Persia | plague | [6] | |||
North America | 1775 | particularly in the Northeast | unknown cause | ||
England | 1775–1776 | influenza | [32] | ||
Spain | 1778 | Cadiz | dengue fever | ||
Plains Indians | 1780–1782 | North American smallpox epidemic | smallpox | [33] | |
Pueblo Indians | 1788 | smallpox | |||
United States | 1788 | Philadelphia and New York City | measles | ||
New South Wales, Australia | 1789–1790 | amongst the Aborigines | smallpox | [34] | |
United States | 1793 | Vermont | influenza and epidemic typhus | ||
United States | 1793 | Virginia | influenza | ||
United States | 1793–1798 | Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, resurgences | yellow fever | [35] |
Death toll (estimate) | Location | Date | Article | Disease | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spain | 1800–1803 | yellow fever | [36] | ||
Ottoman Empire, Egypt | 1801 | bubonic plague | [37] | ||
United States | 1803 | New York | yellow fever | ||
Egypt | 1812 | plague | |||
Ottoman Empire | 1812 | Istanbul | plague | ||
Malta | 1813 | plague | |||
Romania | 1813 | Bucharest | plague | ||
Ireland | 1816–1819 | typhus | |||
> 100,000 | Asia, Europe | 1816–1826 | first cholera pandemic | cholera | [38] |
United States | 1820–1823 | arising near Schuylkill River | fever | ||
Spain | 1821 | Barcelona | yellow fever | Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content |
|
New South Wales, Australia | 1828 | amongst the Aborigines | smallpox | [39] | |
Netherlands | 1829 | Groningen epidemic | malaria | ||
South Australia | 1829 | smallpox | [40] | ||
Iran | 1829–1835 | bubonic plague | [41] | ||
> 100,000 | Asia, Europe, North America | 1829–1851 | second cholera pandemic | cholera | [38] |
Egypt | 1831 | cholera | [42][43] | ||
Plains Indians | 1831–1834 | smallpox | |||
England , France | 1832 | London, Paris | cholera | ||
North America | 1832 | New York City , Montreal other cities | cholera | ||
United States | 1833 | Columbus, Ohio | cholera | ||
United States | 1834 | New York City | cholera | ||
Egypt | 1834–1836 | bubonic plague | [42][43] | ||
United States | 1837 | Philadelphia | typhus | ||
Great Plains | 1837–1838 | 1837–38 smallpox epidemic | smallpox | [44] | |
Dalmatia | 1840 | plague | |||
South Africa | 1840 | Cape Town | smallpox | ||
United States | 1841 | especially severe in the South | yellow fever | ||
> 20,000 | Canada | 1847–1848 | Typhus epidemic of 1847 | epidemic typhus | [45] |
United States | 1847 | New Orleans | yellow fever | ||
worldwide | 1847–1848 | influenza | [46] | ||
Egypt | 1848 | cholera | [42][43] | ||
North America | 1848–1849 | cholera | |||
United States | 1850 | yellow fever | |||
North America | 1850–1851 | influenza | |||
United States | 1851 | Illinois, the Great Plains, and Missouri | cholera | ||
United States | 1852 | New Orleans | yellow fever | ||
1,000,000 | Russia | 1852–1860 | third cholera pandemic | cholera | [38] |
Ottoman Empire | 1853 | what is now Yemen | plague | [47] | |
4,737 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 1853 | Cholera epidemic of Copenhagen 1853 | cholera | [48] |
616 | England | 1854 | Broad Street cholera outbreak | cholera | [49] |
United States | 1855 | yellow fever | |||
worldwide | 1855–1960 | Third plague pandemic | bubonic plague | [50] | |
Portugal | 1857 | Lisbon | yellow fever | ||
Victoria, Australia | 1857 | smallpox | [51] | ||
Europe, North America, South America | 1857–1859 | influenza | [52] | ||
Middle East | 1863–1879 | fourth cholera pandemic | cholera | [38] | |
Egypt | 1865 | cholera | [42][43] | ||
Russia , Germany | 1866–1867 | cholera | |||
Australia | 1867 | Sydney | measles | ||
Iraq | 1867 | plague | [53] | ||
Argentina | 1852–1871 | Buenos Aires | yellow fever | [54] | |
Germany | 1870–1871 | smallpox | |||
40,000 | Fiji | 1875 | Fiji | measles | [55] |
Russian Empire | 1877 | Baku, now part of Azerbaijan | plague | [56] | |
Egypt | 1881 | cholera | [42][43] | ||
> 9,000 | India , Germany | 1881–1896 | fifth cholera pandemic | cholera | [38] |
3,164 | Montreal | 1885 | smallpox | timeline | |
1,000,000 | worldwide | 1889–1890 | 1889–1890 flu pandemic | influenza | [57] |
Death toll (estimate) | Location | Date | Article | Disease | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Congo Basin | 1896–1906 | trypanosomiasis | [58] | ||
> 800,000 | Europe, Asia, Africa | 1899–1923 | sixth cholera pandemic | cholera | [38] |
113 | San Francisco | 1900–1904 | Third plague pandemic | bubonic plague | [59] |
West Africa | 1900 | yellow fever | |||
Uganda | 1900–1920 | trypanosomiasis | [60] | ||
Egypt | 1902 | cholera | [42][43] | ||
India | 1903 | plague | [61] | ||
4 | Fremantle | 1903 | bubonic plague | [62] | |
40,000 | China | 1910–1912 | Harbin, Shenyang | bubonic plague | [63] |
75,000,000 | worldwide | 1918–1920 | Spanish flu | influenza | [64] |
Russia | 1918–1922 | typhus | |||
Egypt | 1942–1944 | malaria | [42][43] | ||
China | 1946 | Harbin | bubonic plague | ||
Egypt | 1946 | relapsing fever | [42][43] | ||
Egypt | 1947 | cholera | [42][43] | ||
2,000,000 | worldwide | 1957–1958 | Asian flu | influenza | [65] |
worldwide | 1961–1975 | seventh cholera pandemic | cholera | [38] | |
1,000,000 | worldwide | 1968–1969 | Hong Kong flu | influenza | [65] |
5 | Netherlands | 1971 | Staphorst, Elspeet and Uddel | poliomyelitis | [66] |
35 | Yugoslavia | 1972 | 1972 outbreak of smallpox in Yugoslavia | smallpox | |
United States | 1972–1973 | London flu | influenza | [67] | |
15,000 | India | 1974 | 1974 smallpox epidemic of India | smallpox | |
worldwide (commenced in Congo Basin) |
1960–present | HIV/AIDS pandemic | HIV/AIDS | [68] | |
South America | 1990s | cholera | |||
52 | India | 1994 | 1994 plague epidemic in Surat | plague | [69] |
West Africa | 1996 | meningitis | |||
Central America | 2000 | 20th century | dengue fever | [70] |
Death toll (estimate) | Location | Date | Article | Disease | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nigeria | 2001 | cholera | [71] | ||
South Africa | 2001 | cholera | [72] | ||
775 | Asia | 2002–2003 | SARS | SARS coronavirus | |
Algeria | 2003 | plague | [73] | ||
Afghanistan | 2004 | leishmaniasis | [74] | ||
Bangladesh | 2004 | cholera | [75] | ||
Indonesia | 2004 | dengue fever | |||
Senegal | 2004 | cholera | [76] | ||
Sudan | 2004 | Ebola | |||
Mali | 2005 | yellow fever | [77] | ||
19 | Singapore | 2005 | 2005 dengue outbreak in Singapore | dengue fever | [78] |
Luanda, Angola | 2006 | cholera | [79] | ||
Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo | 2006 | plague | |||
India | 2006 | malaria | [80] | ||
> 50 | India | 2006 | 2006 dengue outbreak in India | dengue fever | [81] |
India | 2006 | Chikungunya outbreaks | Chikungunya virus | [82] | |
> 50 | Pakistan | 2006 | 2006 dengue outbreak in Pakistan | dengue fever | [83] |
Philippines | 2006 | dengue fever | |||
Democratic Republic of Congo | 2007 | Mweka ebola epidemic | Ebola | [84] | |
Ethiopia | 2007 | cholera | [85] | ||
49 | India | 2008 | cholera | [86] | |
10 | Iraq | 2007 | 2007 Iraq cholera outbreak | cholera | [87] |
Nigeria | 2007 | Poliomyelitis | [88] | ||
Puerto Rico; Dominican Republic; Mexico | 2007 | dengue fever | [89] | ||
Somalia | 2007 | cholera | [90] | ||
Uganda | 2007 | Ebola | |||
Vietnam | 2007 | cholera | [91] | ||
Brazil | 2008 | dengue fever | |||
Cambodia | 2008 | dengue fever | [92] | ||
Chad | 2008 | cholera | [93] | ||
China | 2008 | hand, foot and mouth disease | |||
Madagascar | 2008 | bubonic plague | [94] | ||
Philippines | 2008 | dengue fever | [95] | ||
Vietnam | 2008 | cholera | [96] | ||
4,293 | Zimbabwe | 2008–2009 | 2008–2009 Zimbabwean cholera outbreak | cholera | |
18 | Bolivia | 2009 | 2009 Bolivian dengue fever epidemic | dengue fever | |
49 | India | 2009 | 2009 Gujarat hepatitis outbreak | hepatitis B | |
Queensland, Australia | 2009 | dengue fever | [97] | ||
worldwide | 2009 | Mumps outbreaks in the 2000s | mumps | ||
Worldwide | 2009 | 2009 flu pandemic | influenza | [98] | |
931 | West Africa | 2009–2010 | 2009–2010 West African meningitis outbreak | meningitis | [99] |
14,286 | worldwide | 2009 | 2009 flu pandemic | influenza | [100][101] |
9,985 (May 2017) | Hispaniola | 2010–present | Haiti cholera outbreak | cholera | [102][103] |
> 4,500 (February 2014) | Congo | 2011–present | measles | [104][105] | |
170 | Vietnam | 2011–present | hand, foot and mouth disease | [106][107] | |
> 350 | Pakistan | 2011–present | 2011 dengue outbreak in Pakistan | dengue fever | |
847 (as of 10 January 2013) | Darfur Sudan | 2012 | 2012 yellow fever outbreak in Darfur, Sudan | yellow fever | [108] |
449 (as of 11 June 2015) | Worldwide | 2012–present | 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak | Middle East respiratory syndrome | [109] |
≫ 11,300 | West Africa | 2013–2016 | Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa | Ebola virus disease | [110][111] |
183 | Americas | 2013–2015 | 2013–14 chikungunya outbreak | Chikungunya | [112] |
40 | Madagascar | 2014–present | 2014 Madagascar plague outbreak | Bubonic plague | [113] |
36 | India | 2014–present | 2014 Odisha jaundice outbreak | primarily Hepatitis E, but also Hepatitis A | [114] |
2,035 | India | 2015–present | 2015 Indian swine flu outbreak | Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 | [115][116][117] |
worldwide | 2015–present | 2015–16 Zika virus epidemic | Zika virus | ||
Hundreds (as of 1 April 2016) | Africa | 2016 | 2016 yellow fever outbreak in Angola | yellow fever | [118] |
1,614 (as of 4 July 2017) | Yemen | 2016–present | 2016–17 Yemen cholera outbreak | cholera | |
64 (as of 16 August 2017) | India | 2017–present | 2017 Gorakhpur Japanese encephalitis outbreak | Japanese encephalitis | |
12 (as of May 2018) | India | 2018–present | 2018 Nipah virus outbreak | Nipah virus infection |