-
"Violent heats in the head; redness and inflammation of the eyes; throat and tongue quickly suffused with blood; breath became unnatural and fetid; sneezing and hoarseness; violent cough' vomiting; retching; violent convulsions; the body externally not so hot to the touch, nor yet pale; a livid color inkling to red; breaking out in pustules and ulcers." - Translated from ancient Greek -
A fragment of the fourth book of the History of the Peloponnesian War written by Thucydides, which was an eye-witness account and a description to allow future generations to identify the disease if it breaks out again. During the 2nd year of the war, Athenians experienced many of their people dying from Plague of Athens killing around ⅓ to ⅔ of its population. Because of Thucydides, the Plague of Athens has taken a prominent position in the history of the West for the past 2000+ years.
-
Scholars agree this pandemic ended the Roman Empire. Sometimes referred to as the Black Death's older brother and the first plague pandemic. Historians believe that roughly 20-60% of the Mediterranean's population wiped out because of this disease. Many researchers acknowledge that this plague had waves in Europe lasting more than 200 years. The Justinianic pandemic was also the first documented case of the bubonic plague. Scientists believe the death toll hit nearly 30-50 million by the end.
-
Procopius witnessed the plague first hand and wrote, "Death came in some cases immediately, in others after many days; and with some the body broke out with black pustules about as large as a lentil and these did not survive even one day, but all succumbed immediately." in the book he wrote "History of the Wars, Book II." Another eyewitness stated the people of Constantinople knew about the plague 2 years before it hit the city and decided not to prepare. This destroyed the population until 749. -
Thousands of people were dying from the Black Death, however Christians in France and Belgium blamed the Jewish culture for creating the disease. The Jewish religion was pointed at because people of the religion practiced cleanliness. Christians also accused Jews of purposely poisoning the water supply. The painting depicts the public burning and massacre of Jewish followers. After this event Jewish communities were exterminated in the area by Christians.
-
It was the mid-14th century, and the Black Death had begun to ravage Europe. In the end, it reduced the overall population by about a third. Rumors spread that it was a Jewish conspiracy, and as a result Jews suffered terrible persecution. -
The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus. Although there is not a consensus regarding the virus origin, it spread globally during 1918-1919. In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918. It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide.
-
News article addressing Sevier County, Tennessee residents. This piece of press was published in 1918 and gave safety precautions regarding the Flu influenza. The pandemic of 1918 started to spread and kill across the United States and made its way into Sevier County. The piece of media was instructing the public to avoid and shun people who seem to have the disease and have symptoms. The H1N1 strain killed millions and millions of people, this flu is still present and continues to take lives.