Table 1.
History of plagues
| Death toll (estimate) | Location | Date | Comment | Disease |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ca. 40% of population | Europe | 541–542 | Plague of Justinian, attributable to the name of the Byzantine emperor in power at the time | Bubonic plague |
| 30% to 70% of population | Europe | 1346–1350 | “Black Death” or second plague pandemic, first return of the plague to Europe after the Justinianic plague of the 6th century | Plague |
| 100,000 | England | 1665–1666 | Great plague of London | Plague |
| 76,000 | Austria | 1679 | Great plague of Vienna | Plague |
| >50,000 | Russia | 1770–1772 | Russian plague of 1770–1772 | Plague |
| >>100,000 | Asia, Europe | 1816–1826 | First cholera pandemic | Cholera |
| >>100,000 | Asia, Europe, North America | 1829–1851 | Second cholera pandemic | Cholera |
| 20,000+ | Canada | 1847–1848 | Typhus epidemic of 1847 | Epidemic typhus |
| 1,000,000 | Russia | 1852–1860 | Third cholera pandemic | Cholera |
| 1,000,000 | Worldwide | 1889–1890 | 1889–1890 flu pandemic | Influenza |
| 75,000,000 | Worldwide | 1918–1920 | 1918 flu pandemic | Influenza |
| 2,000,000 | Worldwide | 1957–1958 | Asian flu | Influenza |
| 1,000,000 | Worldwide | 1968–1969 | Hong Kong flu | Influenza |
| 775 | Asia | 2002–2003 | SARS | SARS coronavirus |
| 14,286 | Worldwide | 2009 | 2009 flu pandemic | Influenza |
| Incalculable | Worldwide | 1950- | Antibiotic resistance | Infectious diseases |