These top 10 deadly diseases cured in the 20th century have been plaguing humanity throughout its history. Effects of some of them can be seen in our list of 10 majorly successful people with disabilities. The good news is that today we have the means to cure or prevent them. The bad news is that despite the progress of medicine, there are parts of the world where some of these diseases still kill people.
Creating cures and vaccines for some of the diseases on this list is one of the reasons behind life expectancy going up more than double in the last 100 or so years. In 1900, average life expectancy was 31 year, rising to 48 in 1950 and finally 67.2 in 2010. Having diseases like plague and measles that ravaged the population in the past almost eradicated have helped enormously with ever increasing human life span.
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Unfortunately, diseases fight back. The viruses that cause them mutate over time into new forms, usually deadlier than their predecessors. It takes time for scientists to come up with a vaccine that would be effective against the new strain. Then the virus mutates again and it is back to square one. This game of cat and mouse has been going on for a long time. The virus that is best known for its adaptability and ease of transformation into something new each time an effective vaccine has been introduced is the flu. Almost every year we have a new scare about a new type that is threating to decimate the humanity, as it happened in the past. In fact, three types of flu are present on our list of top 10 deadly diseases cured in the 20th century.
We ranked the diseases accordingly how deadly they were in our history. There are diseases that are suspiciously absent from the list, like pertussis or whooping cough or polio. The reason for this is that there aren’t reliable data on the number of deaths they caused. Some of them are completely eradicated, others are close to eradication. Hopefully, in near future all top 10 deadly diseases cured in the 20th century will be encountered only in medical history textbooks.
10. Asian Flu
Estimated death toll: 1,000,000 – 2,000,000
The mildest influence pandemic to hit the human population in the 20th century, Asian Flu was caused by the virus that was a combination of avian and human influenza viruses. At the beginning of 1957, the outbreak started in china and quickly spread to nearby Asian nations, reaching the US in the summer. Maurice Hilleman created the vaccine that stopped the diseases from killing far more people.
9. Hong Kong Flu
Estimated death toll: 1,000,000 -4,000,000
Hong Kong flu is a name for a disease created through a fusion of several influenza virus subtypes. The disease originated in Hong Kong, hence the name. The vaccine was created after several months, but not before the diseases killed between 1 and 4 million people.
8. Yellow Fever
Estimated death toll: 2,000,000-3,000,000
In 6 most notable yellow fever epidemics of the 18th and 19th century between 50,000 and 100,000 people died. Even today, yellow fever kills about 30,000 people annually. The death toll doesn’t include Mayans who were exposed to the diseases by the Spanish conquistadors in 1600s. The first vaccine for yellow fever was discovered in 1937 by Max Teller.
7. Typhus
In just 5 outbreaks where detailed accounts of the dead were kept, typhus has killed more than 3 million people. The death toll of this disease is certainly much higher, as it has ravaged humanity since at least 15th century. Large gatherings of people with poor sanitation are typhus’ favorite breeding grounds and armies throughout the history have been especially susceptible to it. Napoleon’s Grand Army during their retreat from Moscow in 1812 and Russian army during the Word War 1 were some that have been the most affected. The lack of reliable data is the only thing preventing typhus from being placed much higher on this list.
6. Spanish Flu
Estimated death toll: 25,000,000 to 50,000,000
The first major influenza pandemic in the 20th century was Spanish Flu. It started in 1918 and lasted until 1920. The total estimated number of casualties ranges from 25 to 50 million worldwide.
5. Cholera
Estimated death toll: 50,000,000
According to WHO, cholera causes between 58,000–130,000 deaths annually. Since this disease, caused by bacteria, has been a part of human history since at least 1000 AD, we estimated that it is responsible for at least 50,000,000 deaths. Second Cholera Pandemic alone in the mid-1800s in the US killed some 150,000 people. The vaccine was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century by Wilhelm Kolle.
4. Tuberculosis
Estimated death toll: 100,000,000
Despite the BSG vaccine being available since 1921, some 900,000 people died from tuberculosis in 2012. Although the number is lower than 1.3 million deaths in 2000, it is still fairly high and is in top 12 deadliest diseases today according to the WHO.
3. Plaque
Estimated death toll: 150,000,000 – 200,000,000
Since the first outbreak in the 6th century, the plague has killed at least 150 million people. It is the disease that has completely changed the face of Europe and was a reason behind many historical events. Today, it is successfully treated with antibiotics.
2. Measles
Estimated death toll: 200,000,000
The first measles vaccine was introduced in 1963. Since then, millions of lives were saved by it. Sadly, due to the anti-vaccination movement, we have experienced a large increase in cases in the recent years.
1. Smallpox
Estimated death toll: 300,000,000 – 500,000,000
Number one on our list of top 10 deadliest diseases cured in the 20th century is smallpox. The most modest estimates put the total number of deaths caused by this illness to 300 million. After the widespread efforts by the UN in the 1970s, smallpox is considered eradicated.
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