The most deadly plague in history

Tuberculosis, flu, smallpox, HIV / AIDS are 4 dangerous epidemics that cause many deaths in the history of humanity in the world.

According to The Conversation, in the past, people faced many infectious diseases. In which there are four dangerous diseases that people must fight for prevention and treatment.

More than one billion people have died in the past 200 years due to tuberculosis. Tuberculosis has become an infectious disease that causes the most deaths in world history. When antibiotics were born, the disease was controlled and cured. Without drugs, 70% of people with tuberculosis will die.

Tuberculosis is present in every country. Today, about one-third of the world's population is thought to be infected with TB in the form of non-external expression. In it, the TB bacteria in the body are controlled by the immune system. They will develop in a small number of people who cause fever, weight loss, and fatigue, coughing up blood. Patients with weakened immune systems due to chemotherapy, HIV or other diseases are at higher risk of tuberculosis.

In 2015, the whole world has 10.4 million new cases of TB and 1.8 million deaths. In 2016 this figure decreased to 9 million new cases and 1.5 million deaths. The tuberculosis vaccine has been developed for about a century but is only effective in children and not really good for adults.

More than 1 billion people have died of tuberculosis in the past 200 years.(Photo: BN).

Smallpox caused by variola virus, easily spread through inhalation or exposure. The initial symptoms are simply pustules on the skin. The disease is very dangerous with 30% mortality rate, survivors will be infected by infection such as scarring, blindness, arthritis .

In late 1960, smallpox was a dangerous disease in Asia and Africa, estimated at two million deaths annually. In the 18th century, with the immunization method of Dr. Edward Jenner, England, people found a way to prevent smallpox on a large scale. The World Health Organization (WHO) officially announced the elimination of smallpox epidemic in 1979.

The epidemic may disappear but the variola virus is still stored in laboratories around the world. Many scientists fear that the virus, if used as a bioterrorism weapon, would be a major danger because humans are no longer regularly vaccinated against smallpox.

In 1980, some gay men in the United States had infections that were previously only found in people with severe immune deficiencies. In the following years, the immunodeficiency virus in people named HIV was discovered, becoming a global danger.

HIV originates from primates in Africa that infect humans and spread globally. If infected, if not treated, will develop into AIDS - acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The disease devastates the human immune system, causing many infections and cancer. Without treatment, almost all people infected with HIV have AIDS and death.

Around 40 million people worldwide have died of AIDS and 36 million people are living with HIV. There is no preventive vaccine and no treatment to completely remove the HIV virus from the body. However, people with AIDS can increase immunity and reduce the risk of infection by antiviral therapy called ART (Anti-Retroviral Therapy).

Scientists are still actively looking for complete treatments for HIV / AIDS. They hope the epidemic will end in 2030.

Many HIV / AIDS communication campaigns are taking place around the world.(Photo: HT).

In the last century, influenza caused more deaths than HIV / AIDS. Every year the world has about 4 million people with influenza, of which 250,000 die. Elderly patients, a history of heart failure, lung disease and pregnant women have the highest risk of death.

People can become infected with influenza viruses from poultry or livestock. Most cases create a dangerous pandemic if they start to spread from person to person. In particular, the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 killed more than 40 million people, more than twice the number of people killed in the First World War.

Currently, influenza vaccines are only effective at preventing about 50% of the risk of disease, but the only way to prevent the disease.