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SOME HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT EPIDEMICS
<tt> SOME HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT EPIDEMICS -
Duke University, Chapel Hill, NC, presents a very detailed online list of epidemics suffered throughout history.
The following extraction lists only those epidemics touching the area in Europe that may have affected our Austro-Hungarian ancestors.
For a complete list of Duke University's Historically Significant Epidemics (including the many outbreaks in the U.S.) visit their web site at
<http://www.botany.duke.edu/microbe/chrono.htm>;.
<start of extract>
1148 AD.
An epidemic at Adalia on the coast of Anatolia wiped out soldiers and pilgrims of the Second Crusade and facilitated their defeat by the Turks.
14th century.
The Black Death, an outbreak of bubonic plague, was the most
devastating single epidemic of all time, killing probably a third or more of
the population of Europe and Asia.
It originated in central Asia and had already killed an estimated 25 million people before it reached Constantinople in 1347.
From there it was spread around the Mediterranean by merchant ships and by crusaders returning from the middle east.
By 1350 it had spread throughout Europe, and at least another 25 million people had died.
The social upheaval that ensued is generally regarded as the end of the Middle Ages.
Outbreaks of bubonic plague continued sporadically in various European locations throughout the 15th and 16th centuries.
1494-95
Syphilis first appeared in Europe among Spanish soldiers in Naples.
Historians differ on whether it was brought back by explorers returning from America.
The Italians called it the Spanish or French Disease, the French called it the Italian disease, the Russians called it the Polish disease, and
the Arabs called it the disease of the Christians.
Smallpox, which had existed previously in Europe, also got its modern name at this time, to distinguish it from syphilis which was also known as "the pox".
1576
Paris and several other European cities suffered from diphtheria.
This epidemic marks the first accurate description of this disease, by the physician Guillaume de Baillou.
Two years later he described whooping cough in its first confirmed outbreak, although the disease probably had existed prior to this time.
1590-1610
Plague again swept many European cities.
1618-48
The period of the Thirty Years War in Germany was marked by repeated epidemics, including typhus, plague and dysentery that spread throughout Europe.
1679
Plague spread from the Ottoman Empire into Austria, killing thousands of people especially in Vienna and eastern Austria.
1805-07
Typhus outbreaks occurred during the occupation of Vienna by the French army in 1805, and spread throughout central Europe.
1830-31
An influenza epidemic began in Asia, late in 1829, and spread from there in 1832. The disease reached Moscow and St. Petersburg in the winter of 1830-31 and spread westward.
Another outbreak spread through Europe during 1836-37.
1826-37
The second cholera pandemic of the 19th century, and the most devastating one, began in Bengal and spread through India in 1826.
By late 1830 it had reached Moscow, and from there spread westward into Europe in 1831.
1849
The third major worldwide pandemic of cholera, again starting in Bengal, reached Europe and the U.S. in 1848-49.
The English physician John Snow demonstrated in 1854 that it was spread by contaminated water.
1881-1896
A fifth cholera pandemic was notable for the discovery of its cause, by the German physician Robert Koch.
Like its predecessors, this epidemic began in India, and spread both east and west from there. By this time improvements in sanitation kept it from affecting many European cities.
1889-90
A worldwide epidemic of influenza, the most devastating to that time, began in central Asia in the summer of 1889, spread north into Russia, east to China and west to Europe.
1890s
The third plague pandemic began in China in the 1850s and spread slowly until it reached the seaports in the 1880s. Sporadic outbreaks continued worldwide for years, and officially this pandemic was not considered over until 1959.
1917-1919
The most lethal influenza pandemic ever killed half a million people worldwide.
Its spread was facilitated by troop movements in the closing months of World War I. Mortality rates were unusually high for flu, especially among young, otherwise healthy adults.
This list was compiled largely from "Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence",
edited by George C. Kohn, and published by Facts On File, Inc., 1995.
<end of extract>
Another related site is: The American Experience: Influenza 1918
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/influenza/</tt>
Duke University, Chapel Hill, NC, presents a very detailed online list of epidemics suffered throughout history.
The following extraction lists only those epidemics touching the area in Europe that may have affected our Austro-Hungarian ancestors.
For a complete list of Duke University's Historically Significant Epidemics (including the many outbreaks in the U.S.) visit their web site at
<http://www.botany.duke.edu/microbe/chrono.htm>;.
<start of extract>
1148 AD.
An epidemic at Adalia on the coast of Anatolia wiped out soldiers and pilgrims of the Second Crusade and facilitated their defeat by the Turks.
14th century.
The Black Death, an outbreak of bubonic plague, was the most
devastating single epidemic of all time, killing probably a third or more of
the population of Europe and Asia.
It originated in central Asia and had already killed an estimated 25 million people before it reached Constantinople in 1347.
From there it was spread around the Mediterranean by merchant ships and by crusaders returning from the middle east.
By 1350 it had spread throughout Europe, and at least another 25 million people had died.
The social upheaval that ensued is generally regarded as the end of the Middle Ages.
Outbreaks of bubonic plague continued sporadically in various European locations throughout the 15th and 16th centuries.
1494-95
Syphilis first appeared in Europe among Spanish soldiers in Naples.
Historians differ on whether it was brought back by explorers returning from America.
The Italians called it the Spanish or French Disease, the French called it the Italian disease, the Russians called it the Polish disease, and
the Arabs called it the disease of the Christians.
Smallpox, which had existed previously in Europe, also got its modern name at this time, to distinguish it from syphilis which was also known as "the pox".
1576
Paris and several other European cities suffered from diphtheria.
This epidemic marks the first accurate description of this disease, by the physician Guillaume de Baillou.
Two years later he described whooping cough in its first confirmed outbreak, although the disease probably had existed prior to this time.
1590-1610
Plague again swept many European cities.
1618-48
The period of the Thirty Years War in Germany was marked by repeated epidemics, including typhus, plague and dysentery that spread throughout Europe.
1679
Plague spread from the Ottoman Empire into Austria, killing thousands of people especially in Vienna and eastern Austria.
1805-07
Typhus outbreaks occurred during the occupation of Vienna by the French army in 1805, and spread throughout central Europe.
1830-31
An influenza epidemic began in Asia, late in 1829, and spread from there in 1832. The disease reached Moscow and St. Petersburg in the winter of 1830-31 and spread westward.
Another outbreak spread through Europe during 1836-37.
1826-37
The second cholera pandemic of the 19th century, and the most devastating one, began in Bengal and spread through India in 1826.
By late 1830 it had reached Moscow, and from there spread westward into Europe in 1831.
1849
The third major worldwide pandemic of cholera, again starting in Bengal, reached Europe and the U.S. in 1848-49.
The English physician John Snow demonstrated in 1854 that it was spread by contaminated water.
1881-1896
A fifth cholera pandemic was notable for the discovery of its cause, by the German physician Robert Koch.
Like its predecessors, this epidemic began in India, and spread both east and west from there. By this time improvements in sanitation kept it from affecting many European cities.
1889-90
A worldwide epidemic of influenza, the most devastating to that time, began in central Asia in the summer of 1889, spread north into Russia, east to China and west to Europe.
1890s
The third plague pandemic began in China in the 1850s and spread slowly until it reached the seaports in the 1880s. Sporadic outbreaks continued worldwide for years, and officially this pandemic was not considered over until 1959.
1917-1919
The most lethal influenza pandemic ever killed half a million people worldwide.
Its spread was facilitated by troop movements in the closing months of World War I. Mortality rates were unusually high for flu, especially among young, otherwise healthy adults.
This list was compiled largely from "Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence",
edited by George C. Kohn, and published by Facts On File, Inc., 1995.
<end of extract>
Another related site is: The American Experience: Influenza 1918
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/influenza/</tt>
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