14. Flu Pandemic, 1889-1890 (1,000,000 Deaths)
Worldwide
The 1800’s didn’t end all too swiftly in Asia and Russia, mostly because of the flu pandemic of 1889. A million lives were lost since the first observation in May, which happened in three locations at the same time, namely Turkestan, Athabasca and Greenland. Populations were rapidly on the rise heading into the 1900’s, so the outbreak spread to more people than initially anticipated. This was the first true epidemic of the era, and researchers saw it as their opportunity to learn as much as possible from it. This would make a tremendous difference in the prevention and isolation of any future cases which may lead to a similar pandemic.
Flu Pandemic 1889
15. Cholera: Third Pandemic, 1852-1860 (1,000,000 Deaths)
Worldwide
We’ve spoken of the sixth pandemic of Cholera, but perhaps it helps to also speak about the third. In fact, this one was considered to be the most deadly, claiming over a million lives in its wake. Eight years in the making, the outbreak hit Asia, Europe, North America and Canada, doing its most to wipe out a substantial proportion of the populations in each. The origin of the outbreak? Contaminated water, especially when it came to retransmission. Although this helped to curb future infections, the same year saw thousands of deaths in countries from all continents mentioned.
Cholera Third Pandemic
