| 1 |
Antonine Plague |
165 |
180 |
Believed to be either smallpox or measles |
5,000,000 |
| 2 |
Plague of Justinian |
541 |
542 |
Yersinia pestis bacteria/Rats, fleas |
50,000,000 |
| 3 |
Japanese smallpox epidemic |
735 |
737 |
Variola major virus |
1,000,000 |
| 4 |
Black Death |
1347 |
1351 |
Yersinia pestis bacteria/Rats, fleas |
200,000,000 |
| 5 |
New World Smallpox Outbreak |
1520 |
Continued |
Variola major virus |
56,000,000 |
| 6 |
Italian plague |
1629 |
1631 |
Yersinia pestis bacteria/Rats, fleas |
1,000,000 |
| 7 |
Great Plague of London |
1665 |
1665 |
Yersinia pestis bacteria/Rats, fleas |
100,000 |
| 8 |
Yellow Fever |
1800 |
1800 |
Virus/Mosquitoes |
150,000 |
| 9 |
Cholera Pandemics 1–6 |
1817 |
1923 |
V. cholera bacteria |
1,000,000 |
| 10 |
Third Plague |
1885 |
1885 |
Yersinia pestis bacteria/Rats, fleas |
12,000,000 |
| 11 |
Russian Flu |
1889 |
1890 |
Believed to be H2N2 (avian origin) |
1,000,000 |
| 12 |
Spanish Flu |
1918 |
1919 |
H1N1 virus/Pigs |
50,000,000 |
| 13 |
Asian Flu |
1957 |
1958 |
H2N2 virus |
1,100,000 |
| 14 |
Hong Kong Flu |
1968 |
1970 |
H3N2 virus |
1,000,000 |
| 15 |
HIV/AIDS |
1981 |
Continued |
Virus/Chimpanzees |
35,000,000 |
| 16 |
SARS |
2002 |
2003 |
Coronavirus/Bats, Civets |
770 |
| 17 |
Swine Flu |
2009 |
2010 |
H1N1 virus/Pigs |
200,000 |
| 18 |
Ebola |
2014 |
2016 |
Ebolavirus/Wild animals |
11,000 |
| 19 |
MERS |
2015 |
Continued |
Coronavirus/Bats, camels |
850 |
| 20 |
COVID-19 |
2019 |
Continued |
Coronavirus-Unknown (possibly pangolins) |
296,067 |
