Figure 3.

Graphs showing that the onset of various other epidemics and pandemics since the first influenza pandemic of 1580 do not correlate with sunspot number. Data from [67,70]: (a) Diseases carried by viruses. Small measles epidemics are included. Historical measles virus epidemics are absent in the Maunder minimum, and somewhat correlate with sunspot maxima, but the scatter is large. Both measles (square symbols) and smallpox (circles) are passed by close contact, whereas yellow fever (triangles) is carried by insects; (b) Bacterial diseases. Only major bubonic plagues are shown (diamonds), defined by deaths exceeding 50,000 long ago and 100,000 recently. Cholera (large squares) is water-borne whereas bubonic plague has been connected with fleas.