List of epidemics

This article is a list of major pandemics and epidemics caused by infectious diseases in human history. Epidemics caused by non-communicable diseases are not on this list.

Top epidemics by death toll

These are pandemics more than 1 million death. Events in boldface are ongoing. For a given epidemic, the average of its estimated death toll range is used for ranking. If the death toll averages of two or more epidemics equal, then the smaller the range, the higher the rank. The most fatal pandemic was the Black Death in Europe duirng the Middle Age. The current pandemics are HIV/AIDS and COVID-19. !Rank !Epidemics/pandemics !Death toll !Population lost !Date !Location !Events/References |- |1 |Black Death | data-sort-value="075000000" |75–200 million |30–60% of European population |1346–1353 |Europe, Asia, and North Africa |At the beginning of the second plague pandemic, about 30%-60% of the European population killed; one of the most deadliest pandemic in history; no sources found. |- |2 |Spanish flu | data-sort-value="58500000" |17–100 million |1–5.4% of global population |1918–1920 |Worldwide |Studies believe the death toll is around 50 million. It is closely related to the First World War. The first wave of the epidemic was recorded in military camps in Kansas. |- |3 |Plague of Justinian | data-sort-value="57500000" |15–100 million |25–60% of European population |541–549 |Europe and West Asia |The beginning of the first plague pandemic was named after the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. Approximately 25%-60% of the European population died. |- |4 |HIV/AIDS pandemic | data-sort-value="35000001" |35 million+ (as of 2020) | |1981–present |Worldwide |Researchers believe that the virus was transmitted to humans by chimpanzees in West Africa. The earliest cases of AIDS were recorded in Congo in the early 1960s. |- |5 |Third plague pandemic | data-sort-value="12000000" |12–15 million | |1855–1960 |Worldwide |Yunnan originated in the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty and was closely related to the suppression of Huichang in Yunnan by the Qing army. The main deaths occurred in India and China. This pandemic has caused major regional epidemics, such as the Hong Kong plague and the Northeast plague. |- |6 |Cocoliztli Epidemic of 1545–1548 | data-sort-value="010000000" |5–15 million |27–80% of Mexican population |1545–1548 |Mexico |From 1545 to 1548, the first wave of epidemics died from 5 million to 15 million (about 80% of the Mexican population); the second wave of epidemics from 1576 to 1578 died of 2 million to 2.5 million (about 50% of the Mexican population). May be brought in by the European colonists. |- |7 |Antonine Plague | data-sort-value="07500000" |5–10 million |25–33% of Roman population | data-sort-value="0165" |165–180 (possibly up to 190) |Roman Empire |Brought back from the Near East by the Roman Empire. This was named after the Roman emperor who was in power at the time. |- |8 |1520 Mexico smallpox epidemic | data-sort-value="6500000" |5–8 million |23–37% of Mexican population |1519–1520 |Mexico |Introduced the European "Navigation Discovery" period, the smallpox pandemic played an important role in Spain's conquest of the Aztec Empire. |- |9 |COVID-19 pandemic |data-sort-value="2500000" |2.5 million+ (as of March 2021) |0.03% of global population |2019–present |Worldwide |The pandemic began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in the fall of 2019. Experts believe there are significant numbers of unreported cases that vary from region to region. From the excess mortality figures available for individual countries, it can be deduced that the actual deaths are significantly higher. |- |10 |1918–1922 Russia typhus epidemic | data-sort-value="2500000" |2–3 million |0.1–0.16% of global population |1918–1922 |Russia |Mainly occurred during the First World War and the Russian Civil War. |- | rowspan="2" |11 |Asian flu | data-sort-value="2,500,000" |1–4 million |0.03–0.1% of global population |1957–1958 |Worldwide |It is believed that the virus originated from the type A avian influenza virus that first broke out in Guizhou, China. American microbiologist, Morris Hillerman, had invented a vaccine that saved hundreds of thousands of lives. |- |Hong Kong flu | data-sort-value="2,500,000" |1–4 million |0.03–0.1% of global population |1968–1969 |Worldwide |The Asian influenza virus transferred its antigenic form and broke out for the first time in Hong Kong. At that time, it was also called "Mao flu" or "Mao Zedong flu". |- |13 |Cocoliztli epidemic of 1576 |2–2.5 million |50% of Mexican population |1576–1580 |Mexico |A epidemics from 1576 to 1578 died of 2 million to 2.5 million (approximately 50% of the Mexican population). This disease could might have brought the from the European people after being colonized from America. |- | rowspan="2" |14 |735–737 Japanese smallpox epidemic |2 million |33% of Japanese population |735–737 |Japan |In the 6th century AD, smallpox and the Silk Road trade activities spread to Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Since then, about one-third of the Japanese population has died. |- |1772–1773 Persian Plague |2 million | |1772–1773 |Persia |The second plague pandemic broke out in Baghdad (now the capital of Iran). |- |16 |Naples Plague |1.25 million | |1656–1658 |Italy |The second plague pandemic was introduced from other European countries, mainly affecting the central and southern regions of Italy (the Kingdom of Naples), causing a devastating almost wipped out the population of Naples. |- |17 |Third cholera pandemic |1 million+ | |1846–1860 |Worldwide |It first broke out in India, and about 1 million people died in the Russian Empire. During this period, the British doctor John Snow used scientific methods to determine the transmission route of cholera and successfully controlled the epidemic. He was hailed as the "father of epidemiology" by the later generations. |- | rowspan="2" |18 |1629–1631 Italian plague |1 million | |1629–1631 |Italy |In the second plague pandemic, also known as the "Milan plague", about 25% of the Italian population were died. In the "Thirty Years' War" (1618-1648) in Europe, the dispatch of troops brought the plague to Italy. |- |1889–1890 flu pandemic |1 million | |1889–1890 |Worldwide |The first outbreak occurred in the Bukhara region of the Russian Empire. At the same time, there are also reports of outbreaks in Canada, Greenland and other places. |}