The Most Destructive Pandemics and Epidemics In Human History

Summary

Este video explora las epidemias y pandemias más destructivas de la historia humana, desde la Peste de Atenas que mató al 25% de la población ateniense, hasta la reciente pandemia de Ebola que asoló a África Occidental. Se abordan enfermedades como la Peste Negra, la gripe española y el SIDA, cuyas consecuencias cambiaron el curso de la historia y la cultura mundial.

Takeaways

• 😷 Una epidemia es una enfermedad que se puede propagar de persona a persona y afecta a muchas personas al mismo tiempo en un lugar donde la enfermedad no está permanentemente prevalente.
• 🌍 Una pandemia es como una epidemia, pero de escala mucho más grande y puede afectar a países enteros, continentes y a veces incluso a todo el mundo.
• 🏺 La Peste de Atenas, alrededor de 430 a.C.E., mató aproximadamente el 25% de la población ateniense en un período de tres años.
• 🤒 La Peste Antonina, también conocida como la Peste de Galén, devastó el Imperio Romano de 165 a 180 d.C.E. y se cree que mató aproximadamente 60 millones de personas.
• 📜 La Peste de Cyprian, de 249 a 262 d.C.E., fue una epidemia que afectó al Imperio Romano y se cree que mató a 5,000 personas al día en Roma.
• 👑 La Peste de Justiniano, alrededor de 541 d.C.E., es considerada una de las primeras pandemias registradas y se cree que mató a alrededor de 100 millones de personas en todo el mundo.
• 🌐 La viruela es una enfermedad altamente contagiosa causada por el virus variola, y se cree que las primeras evidencias de la enfermedad provienen de Egipto e India.
• 🦟 La malaria es una enfermedad infecciosa causada por un parásito encontrado en mosquitos y afecta a hasta 200 millones de personas cada año.
• 🖤 La Peste Negra, también conocida como la Peste Bubónica, devastó la población de Europa durante la mayor parte del siglo XIV y se cree que mató a entre 50 y 60 millones de personas en Asia, África y Europa.
• 🌐 La gripe española, que comenzó en 1918, infectó a un tercio de la población mundial y se cree que mató entre 20 y 50 millones de personas en solo dos años.
• 🦇 La tercera pandemia de la peste bubónica, que se originó en China y duró desde 1855 hasta la década de 1950, se cree que mató a hasta 15 millones de personas.

Q & A

¿Qué es una epidemia y cómo difiere de una pandemia?

Una epidemia es una enfermedad que se puede propagar de persona a persona y afecta a muchos individuos al mismo tiempo en un lugar donde la enfermedad no está permanentemente prevalente. Una pandemia es como una epidemia, pero de escala mucho más grande y puede afectar a países enteros, continentes e incluso a todo el mundo.

¿Cuál fue la consecuencia de la Peste de Atenas en términos de mortalidad?

La Peste de Atenas afectó a aproximadamente el 25% de la población ateniense, eliminando a alrededor de 100,000 personas en un período de tres años.

¿Qué síntomas describió Tucídides como parte de la Peste de Atenas?

Tucídides describió síntomas como fiebre alta, diarrea y un sarpullido pustuloso.

¿Cómo afectó la Peste Antonina al Imperio Romano?

La Peste Antonina mató aproximadamente a 60 millones de personas y afectó a la realeza, incluyendo al emperador Lucio Vero.

¿Cuáles fueron los síntomas de la Peste de Ciprian?

Los síntomas incluían vomitos, ojos encarnados, pérdida de audición, ceguera y pérdida de coordinación.

¿Cuál fue el impacto de la Peste de Justiniano en el Imperio Bizantino?

La Peste de Justiniano mató a aproximadamente 100 millones de personas en todo el mundo y duró 225 años, alterando el curso de la historia política humana.

¿De qué enfermedades se sospecha que fue la Peste de Justiniano?

Se sospecha que pudo ser una pandemia de peste bubónica, aunque nunca se identificó el virus o la enfermedad específica que causó la pandemia.

¿Cuál fue el impacto de la viruela en la historia mundial?

La viruela es altamente contagiosa y se cree que ha matado a millones de personas durante la Edad Media y dentro del Imperio Romano. También se cree que contribuyó a la destrucción de las civilizaciones azteca e inca.

¿Cuál es la principal transmisión de la malaria y cómo afecta a las poblaciones humanas?

La malaria se transmite principalmente a través de mosquitos infectados y afecta principalmente a países menos desarrollados. Causó la muerte de millones de personas a lo largo de la historia.

¿Qué caracterizó la Peste Negra y cómo afectó a la población europea?

La Peste Negra, también conocida como la peste bubónica, causó la muerte de aproximadamente 50 millones de personas en Asia, África y Europa, eliminando al 30% al 60% de la población total de Europa.

¿Cuál fue la causa y el impacto de la Epidemia de Cocolitzli en México?

La Epidemia de Cocolitzli, también conocida como la 'Gran Pestilencia', causó la muerte de entre 5 a 15 millones de personas en México, lo que representa la epidemia más mortal en la historia de México.

Outlines

00:00

😷 Epidemias y Pandemias Históricas

Este párrafo aborda la diferencia entre epidemias y pandemias, y luego se enfoca en algunas de las epidemias y pandemias más destructivas de la historia humana. Se menciona la necesidad de suscribirse al canal Weird History Channel y se invita a los espectadores a dejar comentarios sobre temas históricos inquietantes que les gustaría escuchar. Se relata la Peste de Atenas que afectó a 25% de la población de Atenas entre 430 aC y la descripción de sus síntomas por parte de Tucídides. También se menciona el impacto social de la epidemia y cómo la gente comenzó a comportarse como criminales y multas. Se habla de la Peste Antonina, que azotó al Imperio Romano entre 165 y 180 dC, y se sugiere que pudo haber sido una epidemia de sarampión o viruela. Se menciona la Peste de Ciprian, que afectó al Imperio Romano entre 249 y 262 dC, y se describen sus síntomas. Finalmente, se habla de la Peste de Justiniano, que infectó al Imperio Bizantino en 541 dC y se considera una de las primeras pandemias registradas, matando aproximadamente 10,000 personas al día y un total de 100 millones en todo el mundo.

05:02

🦠 Enfermedades Virales y Parasitarias

Este párrafo trata sobre la viruela, una enfermedad altamente contagiosa causada por el virus de la viruela, y se menciona que los primeros casos conocidos provienen de Egipto e India. Se habla de la epidemia de viruela en Japón entre 735 y 737 dC que mató aproximadamente un tercio de la población japonesa. Se describe la malaria, una enfermedad infecciosa causada por un parásito encontrado en mosquitos, y se menciona que afecta a hasta 200 millones de personas cada año. Se relata la Peste Negra, también conocida como la peste bubónica, que azotó a la población europea durante la mayor parte del siglo XIV y se caracteriza por ampollas sangrantes y fiebres altas. Se menciona la Epidemia de Cocoliztli, que ocurrió entre 1545 y 1548 en lo que hoy es México, y se sugiere que pudo haber sido causada por una cepa de salmonela llamada 'Paratyphi C'. También se habla de la Peste de Moscú en 1770 y se menciona la pandemia de gripe española de 1918, que infectó a un tercio de la población mundial y se cree que mató entre 20 y 50 millones de personas en tan solo dos años.

10:05

🌐 Pandemias Modernas y Enfermedades Globales

Este párrafo aborda la pandemia de gripe porcina de 2009 a 2010, que se cree que mató a más de 200,000 personas en todo el mundo y se originó por un virus influenza nunca antes identificado en animales o humanos. Se describe la epidemia de Ébola de 2014, que fue la más grande en la historia y constituyó la primera epidemia de Ébola, afectando principalmente a los países de África Occidental. Se menciona el Sindrome de Inmunodeficiencia Adquirida (SIDA), que ha causado la muerte de millones de personas y se cree que se originó en África en los años 1920. Se habla de cómo la emergencia de la enfermedad tuvo efectos duraderos en la cultura estadounidense y cómo la epidemia generó un estigma contra la comunidad LGBT. También se menciona que, a pesar de las pérdidas, el tratamiento antirretroviral ha permitido que muchas personas vivan vidas normales y saludables.

Keywords

💡epidemia

Una epidemia es una enfermedad que puede propagarse de persona a persona y afecta a muchos individuos al mismo tiempo en un lugar donde la enfermedad no está permanentemente prevalente. En el vídeo, se menciona que las epidemias son eventos que afectan a una gran cantidad de personas en un corto período de tiempo, como fue el caso de la Peste de Atenas.

💡pandemia

Una pandemia es similar a una epidemia, pero de escala mucho más grande, pudiendo afectar a países enteros, continentes e incluso al mundo entero. El vídeo explora la historia de las pandemias más destructivas, como la Peste Negra, que resultó en la muerte de millones de personas en todo el mundo.

💡Peste de Atenas

La Peste de Atenas fue una epidemia que ocurrió alrededor del 430 a.C. durante la Guerra del Peloponeso, matando aproximadamente al 25% de la población ateniense. En el vídeo, se describe cómo esta plaga tuvo efectos sociales devastadores, llevando a la gente a actuar sin respeto por la religión o la ley.

💡Peste Antonina

La Peste Antonina, también conocida como la Peste de Galeno, azotó al Imperio Romano entre 165 y 180 d.C. Se cree que pudo haber sido una epidemia de sarampión o viruela. El vídeo menciona que esta plaga mató a un cuarto de todas las personas infectadas y se cree que en total murieron aproximadamente 60 millones de personas.

💡Peste de Ciprian

La Peste de Ciprian ocurrió entre 249 y 262 d.C. y se caracterizó por síntomas como la pérdida de la audición y la ceguera. Aunque no se sabe con certeza qué enfermedad causó la plaga, el vídeo destaca cómo esta epidemia差点导致罗马帝国崩溃.

💡Peste de Justiniano

La Peste de Justiniano infectó al Imperio Bizantino alrededor de 541 d.C. y se considera una de las primeras pandemias registradas. El vídeo describe cómo esta plaga alcanzó su punto más mortal matando aproximadamente 10,000 personas al día y en total, se cree que murieron alrededor de 100 millones de personas en todo el mundo.

💡viruela

La viruela es una enfermedad altamente contagiosa causada por el virus de la viruela. Aunque no se sabe con certeza cómo surgió la viruela, el vídeo menciona que los casos más antiguos se remontan a Egipto e India, con la momia del faraón Ramsés V mostrando signos de la enfermedad.

💡malaria

La malaria es una enfermedad infecciosa causada por un parásito encontrado en mosquitos que infecta hasta 200 millones de personas cada año. El vídeo destaca que la malaria ha sido una de las pandemias más mortales en la historia humana, impactando principalmente países menos desarrollados.

💡Peste Negra

La Peste Negra, también conocida como la Peste Bubónica, azotó a la población de Europa durante la mayor parte del siglo XIV. El vídeo describe cómo esta pandemia, causada por la bacteria Yersinia pestis, resultó en la muerte de aproximadamente 50 millones de personas en Asia, África y Europa.

💡influenza

La gripe, o influenza, es una enfermedad viral altamente contagiosa. El vídeo menciona la pandemia de la gripe española de 1918, que infectó a un tercio de la población mundial y causó la muerte de entre 20 y 50 millones de personas en tan solo dos años.

💡Ebola

El brote de Ébola de 2014 fue el brote más grande conocido de la enfermedad y constituyó la primera epidemia de Ébola. El vídeo describe cómo esta epidemia afectó principalmente a los países de África Occidental, con al menos 28,616 casos confirmados y al menos 11,310 muertes.

💡SIDA

El SIDA, o Síndrome de Inmunodeficiencia Adquirida, ha causado la muerte de millones de personas. El vídeo explica que la enfermedad se cree que surgió en África en los años 1920 y se extendió lentamente desde allí. Aunque no todos los infectados por el VIH desarrollan SIDA, el vídeo destaca cómo la epidemia ha tenido efectos profundos y duraderos en la cultura estadounidense.

Highlights

An epidemic is a disease that can spread from person to person and affects many individuals in a location where the disease is not permanently prevalent.

A pandemic is like an epidemic but much larger in scale, affecting entire countries, continents, or even the entire world.

The Plague of Athens, around 430 BCE, killed 100,000 people within three years, affecting 25% of the Athenian population.

The Antonine Plague (165-180 CE) ravaged the Roman Empire, potentially caused by smallpox or measles, and killed approximately 60 million people.

The Plague of Cyprian (249-262 CE) affected the Roman Empire, killing 5,000 people a day in Rome at its peak, and contributed to the empire's near collapse.

The Plague of Justinian (541 CE) was one of the first recorded pandemics, killing 10,000 people daily and ultimately claiming 100 million lives over 225 years.

Smallpox, a highly contagious disease, decimated populations in Europe, and later, the Americas, killing millions and playing a role in the decline of the Aztec and Inca civilizations.

Malaria, a parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes, affects 200 million people each year and is one of the most consistently deadly pandemics in history.

The Black Death, caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria, killed 50 million people in the 14th century, wiping out 30-60% of Europe’s population.

The Cocoliztli Epidemic (1545-1548) in Mexico, marked by high fevers and bleeding, killed 5 to 15 million people, making it the deadliest epidemic in Mexican history.

The Moscow Plague of 1770-1771, another outbreak of bubonic plague, killed between 50,000 and 100,000 people and led to riots and food shortages.

The Spanish flu (1918-1919), a brutal H1N1 flu strain, infected one-third of the global population and killed between 20 and 50 million people worldwide.

The Third Pandemic (1855-1950s), an outbreak of the bubonic plague that began in China, killed 15 million people worldwide.

The swine flu pandemic (2009-2010) killed over 200,000 people and was caused by a new H1N1 virus, highlighting the vulnerability of humans to new influenza strains.

The Ebola outbreak of 2014-2016, the largest in history, killed over 11,000 people, primarily in West Africa, and brought international attention to the epidemic.

AIDS, caused by the HIV virus, has led to the deaths of 32 million people since the epidemic began, while 75 million have been infected globally.

Transcripts

An epidemic is a disease that can

be spread from person to person and affects many individuals

all at the same time in a location where the disease is

not permanently prevalent.

A pandemic is like an epidemic, but is much larger in scale.

Pandemics can affect whole countries, continents,

and sometimes even the entire world.

Today, we're going to take a look

at the most destructive epidemics and pandemics

in human history.

But before we get started, be sure to subscribe

to the Weird History Channel.

After that, we'd be grateful if you'd leave a comment

and let us know what unsettling historical topics you

would like to hear about.

OK.

Ready to hear some scary stuff?

Remember, we did warn you.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Striking at about 430 BCE during the Peloponnesian War,

the Plague of Athens took out somewhere

in the area of 100,000 people within a three year period.

If that doesn't sound too impressive,

keep in mind that's a full 25% of the entire Athenian

population of the day.

In order to help others later identify it,

the Athenian general and historian Thucydides

recorded his own eyewitness account

of the plague and its symptoms.

He described his sickness as presenting with a high fever,

diarrhea, and a pustular rash.

Equally disturbing is Thucydides' description

of the social effects of the epidemic.

He claimed that a widespread belief the plague could not

be survived caused people to start behaving

like criminals and mobs.

He wrote, "The catastrophe was so overwhelming

that men, not knowing what would happen next to them,

became indifferent to every rule of religion or law."

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Also known as the Plague of Galen,

the Antonine Plague ravaged the Roman Empire from 165 to 180

CE.

While the nature of the plague isn't known today,

it's believed that it might have been an outbreak of measles

or smallpox.

Whatever the case, historians think

it was likely brought to Rome by troops returning from war.

At its most deadly, the Antonine Plague

was killing a full quarter of all who became infected by it.

In the end, it is believed to have killed

roughly 60 million people.

And it wasn't just the poor and needy who suffered.

The list of the dead is believed to have included

Lucius Verus, a Roman emperor.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

From about 249 to 262 CE, the Roman Empire

was afflicted by an epidemic that eventually

came to be known as the Plague of Cyprian,

in honor of the early Christian saint

and writer who recorded the event.

Contemporary accounts suggest the symptoms included vomiting,

bloodshot eyes, loss of hearing, blindness,

and loss of coordination.

Historians don't agree on which disease was behind the plague,

but candidates include smallpox, some type of flu,

or a strain of the Ebola virus.

It is believed that the epidemic at its worst,

was killing 5,000 people a day in Rome.

In the aftermath, the empire faced

some of its most difficult years and very nearly collapsed.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The Plague of Justinian infected the Byzantine Empire

around 541 CE and is considered one

of the first recorded pandemics.

You may want to check out some of our other videos about it.

At its peak, this plague killed roughly 10,000 people a day

and ultimately took the lives of roughly 100 million people

around the world.

While many suspected the Plague of Justinian originated

in China or India and was then spread through sea trading

routes, the particular virus or disease

that caused the pandemic was never identified.

It lasted 225 years before it finally disappeared.

And it managed to alter the course

of human political history by preventing the Byzantine Empire

from spreading into Italy.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Smallpox is the name for a highly contagious disease that

is caused by variola virus.

Though no one knows how smallpox came into existence

or how it spread so fast, the earliest known cases

come from Egypt and India.

The oldest known evidence for smallpox

actually comes from the mummy of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses V.

Ramses died in 1145 BCE.

And his remains show signs of the same pockmarks

that are associated with this particular disease.

Smallpox epidemics are believed to have

killed massive numbers of people during the Middle Ages

and within the Roman Empire.

It was eventually introduced to the Western hemisphere

in the 17th century.

Brought by European explorers and settlers,

it led directly to the deaths of millions of people native

to North, South, and Central America.

It is also believed to have decimated

the populations of the Aztec and Inca civilizations.

As if all that's not frightening enough,

the Japanese smallpox epidemic, which lasted only from 735

to 737 CE, killed off approximately one-third

of the entire population of Japan.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Malaria is an infectious disease caused

by a parasite found in mosquitoes

that infects as many as 200 million people every year.

Highly resistant to drugs, it is one

of the most consistently deadly pandemics in human history.

Spread principally through those same mosquitoes,

malaria typically impacts less developed countries.

Though scientists didn't understand it

or how it was spread until the 1800s,

this particular epidemic has been around a while.

Documented descriptions that match the symptoms of malaria

date all the way back to 2700 BCE.

Some even believe it may have been responsible

for the demise of Genghis Khan.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Black Death is the colloquial name

for the bubonic plague, which ravaged Europe's population

throughout most of the 1300s.

It is the most notorious pandemic in human history.

And we have plenty of videos about this one.

Caused by a bacteria called "Yersinia pestis," which

is highly deadly to humans, the plague

was spread by fleas who were themselves immune to it.

The fleas would latch onto rats, who

were spread by merchant ships moving from Asia to Europe.

The Black Plague is characterized

by oozing, bleeding sores and high fevers.

During the 14th century, it is thought

to have killed somewhere in the neighborhood of 50

million people throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe.

In fact, it is believed 30% to 60%

of Europe's total population was completely wiped out.

It was also persistent.

Various forms of the plague continued

to spring up and become a recurring threat

for the next century or so.

Each time it reappeared, it claimed even more lives.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The Cocoliztli Epidemic, also known

as the "Great Pestilence," was an incident

that occurred from 1545 to 1548 in what is today Mexico.

A mysterious illness or illnesses,

characterized by high fevers and bleeding,

swept through the Mexican highlands.

While the identity of the sickness is still unknown,

some modern researchers suspect a strain of salmonella

called "Paratyphi C" might have been the initial cause.

Today, estimates for the death toll

range from five to 15 million people,

making it the deadliest epidemic in Mexican history.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Another outbreak of the bubonic plague, the Moscow Plague,

killed 50,000 to 100,000 people in 1770.

There is no exact figure.

But it is believed this outbreak killed about one-third

of Moscow's population at the time.

Before all was said and done, the city

experienced food shortages and intense rioting.

If there is a silver lining, it's

that after this reappearance in Moscow,

the bubonic plague essentially disappeared from Europe

in the 18th century.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The pandemic that has come to be called the "Spanish flu"

started in 1918 and would go on to infect an entire third

of the world's population.

Estimates on the death rate vary.

But this particular sickness is believed

to have affected roughly 500 million people

and taken the lives of between 20 and 50 million people

worldwide in just two years.

Scientists would later identify the Spanish flu

as a particularly brutal flu strain called "H1N1."

The so-called Spanish flu also serves

as a warning about what can be concluded from the name

given to a pandemic.

Scientists are unsure of where in the Spanish flu originated.

France, China, and Britain have all

been suggested as a potential birthplace of the virus,

and so has the United States, where the first known case was

reported at a military base in Kansas on March 11, 1918.

So why is it called the Spanish flu?

Well, though it was one of the most ruthless pandemics

in history, it struck during World War I.

And most of its destruction wasn't

reported on at the time because of censorship.

Spain, however, was a neutral country during the war

and its newspapers were the only ones to cover the pandemic.

This led to the misnomer "Spanish flu,"

which has caused some people to falsely believe

the disease originated in Spain.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The third pandemic was an outbreak

of the bubonic plague that originated in China

and lasted from 1855 to the 1950s.

Yes, this outbreak actually lasted almost 100 full years.

The pandemic slowly spread beyond Asia to other continents

and is believed to ultimately have taken the lives of as

many as 15 million people.

It wasn't until 1898 that Paul-Louis Simond

discovered the cause of the disease

was brown rats and rat fleas.

This discovery, the first time a scientist had conclusively

demonstrated what caused the plague,

helped curb the spread of the sickness

and eventually led to the creation of a vaccine.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The swine flu pandemic lasted from 2009 to 2010

and is believed to have killed over 200,000 people worldwide.

Rooted in a unique influenza virus that had never previously

been identified in animals or humans,

it posed a huge problem for scientists.

The closest related flus were the North American swine, H1N1,

virus and the Eurasian swine, H1N1, virus.

But investigations quickly showed

that most of the people infected had never been exposed to pigs.

This made it clear that the new virus was only

affecting humans.

At the time, the 2009 H1N1 was considered

one of the most deadly modern pandemics

and served as a warning about how incredibly vulnerable

we humans still are to influenza strains.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The 2014 Ebola outbreak was the largest known breakout of Ebola

in history and constituted the first actual Ebola epidemic.

This outbreak, which would last roughly two years,

would prove especially destructive to the people

of West Africa.

Finally, in March 2016, the World Health Organization

determined that the situation was under control.

Sadly, this was long after at least 28,616 cases had

been confirmed and at least 11,310 deaths

had occurred throughout Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, more widely known

by the acronym AIDS, has caused the deaths

of millions of people.

Scientists believe the disease originated in Africa

during the 1920s and spread slowly from there.

By 1981, a case had been reported

in Los Angeles, California.

The emergence of the disease had deep and lasting effects

on American culture.

On the upside, safe sex and the use of condoms

became far more common.

On the downside, in addition to the lives lost,

the epidemic triggered waves of bigotry

that were directed at the LGBT community.

The virus form of AIDS, known as "HIV,"

attacks the immune system.

A person infected with HIV can contract

AIDS when their body becomes too weak to fight off infections.

However, not all of those who are infected with HIV

will get AIDS.

Many with the virus are able to live normal, healthy lives,

thanks to antiretroviral treatments

which have become more widely available over the years.

However, not everyone was so lucky.

According to the World Health Organization,

since the beginning of the epidemic,

75 million people have become infected with HIV,

and about 32 million have died from it.

So what do you think?

Which of these historical plagues

would scare you the most?

Let us know in the comments below.

And, while you're at it, check out some of these other videos

from our Weird History.