Infectious disease outbreaks since WWI

By Simon Rankin

  • Spanish Flu

    A pandemic of the Spanish flu estimated to have killed 50 million people worldwide.

  • Asian Flu

    The Asian flu causes more than one million deaths around the world.

  • Russian Flu

    A series of infections of Russian flu in young people around the world creates fears of a pandemic.

  • Avian Flu

    First outbreak of avian influenza strain HN51 (bird flu) in Hong Kong. Bird flu is believed to have caused more than 250 deaths worldwide since then.

  • SARS

    The infectious Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) infects more than 8000 people worldwide, killing 774.

  • Equine Flu

    An outbreak of equine influenza (EI) sparks a widespread outbreak that stops racing and equestrian events in NSW and Queensland. The disease infects 38,000 horses and 5000 properties in NSW alone.

  • Hong Kong Flu

    An outbreak of Hong Kong influenza kills around 33,000 people in the United States.

  • Swine Flu

    An outbreak of swine flu kills more than 100 people in Mexico, with infections reported in the US, Canada and New Zealand.