Worst Epidemics of All Time

Hey there again. This time on the blog I'm going to review the 5 worst epidemics of all time. I'm not doing this by number, rather by the epidemics impact on the world surrounding it. So let's dive in....


5. Antonine Plague (165-180AD)
This plague hit the Roman empire harder than any other army could. It claimed the lives of two emperors and some 5 million other Romans. This plague had a large social and economic impact, as well as damage to the military. Battles were postponed and the economy suffered a great deal do to this plague, which was either an outbreak of smallpox or measles. Either way, it's effects were felt in a very quick and harsh manner.

4.Spanish Flu (1918-1920)
The Spanish Flu caused more hospitilizations than war wounds. Many of the victims of this flu were young healthy kids. It killed between 50-100 million people right after WW I had just ended. Many were displaced and lost many that they had loved. However, this disgusting loss of life still does not compare to the upcoming epidemics.

3.Plague of Justinian (541-544)
This plague, occuring almost everywhere in the world, was one of the first records of Bubonic plague. An estimated 25 million people were killed by the plague. The plague had many effects oh the future of the entire world. Populations were in shambles and little hope was felt.

2. Black Death (1340s-???)
The Black Death is one of the worst epidemics to ever strike the world. It spread to all ends of the Earth and took at least 75 million lives. That was almost half of Europe's entire population at that point. With little to do, the world had to live in a fright of paranoia. The disease spread like wildfire all over Europe and Asia and there was litteraly nothing anyone could do. The after effects decimated towns, cities, cultures, and families. The Black Death changed the world very drastically and very quickly, as paranoia over trade and its effects on this slowed down those business as well.

1. AIDS (1959-Current)
Since AIDS came along, it has spread all over the world. Although AIDS has only claimed 21 million lives since it came along, it has 38.6 million current diagnoses. 2-3 million people die of it each year and it continues to spread in rural Africa. With no known cure, AIDS promises to kill more unsuspecting pleasure seekers than any other epidemic in history. Numbers and infected people are suspected to rise heavily in the years to come. AIDS has slowed down our economic growth through loss of production and has made sex more dangerous without a condom. AIDS has had many victims and unless a miracle cure comes, this may be the most ongoing epidemic, lasting for years on end.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my depressing column on death and destruction. Next time I'll ease up and do a blog exploring Major Sports records.