Active for almost two years, the COVID-19 pandemic is already one of the deadliest in history, with at least 5 million deaths worldwide. A look back at the epidemics and pandemics that have marked history over the centuries.
Before the arrival of COVID-19, we had somewhat forgotten infectious diseases. But historically, they constitute the bulk of mortality.
Denis Goulet, specialist in the history of medicine and diseases, author of the book Brief history of epidemics in Quebec
Black Death (1346-1353)
Caused by bacteria transmitted by rats, the Black Death was the deadliest pandemic in history: it killed 75 to 200 million people in just a few years. “From 30 to 50% of Europeans died from it,” explains Alain Gagnon, a demographer from the University of Montreal who is working on the history of infections. “The disease even contributed to the fall of the Yuan dynasty in China, to weaken the Byzantine Empire… When half of a continent dies in a few years, it’s an impact hard to imagine. ”
Spanish flu (1918-1920)
10 to 30 times more deadly than a classic flu epidemic, the influenza pandemic of 1918 (Spanish flu), due to a particularly virulent and contagious strain, killed 50 to 100 million people worldwide, often killing people young adults, just after the First World War. “The range of the number of victims is very wide because we cannot properly assess the numbers in countries like India, which were very affected by the pandemic, but which at the time did not have a registration system. systematic deaths, ”notes Alain Gagnon. Denis Goulet, specialist in the history of medicine and diseases, author of the book Brief history of epidemics in Quebec, explains that this epidemic was devastating here: more than 13,000 people died in a short time in the province. “In a family of ten children, you could lose four or five. You can imagine the drama… ”Still, very few people wore the mask at the time, he says. “In 1918, even in surgery, wearing a mask was a new practice. ”
AIDS (1981 to present)
PHOTO PIERRE MCCANN, ARCHIVES THE PRESS
The Fifth International AIDS Conference, the largest scientific congress ever to be held in Canada, took place in May 1989 in Montreal. It included a cultural component, SIDART.
The AIDS epidemic has caused more than 36 million deaths worldwide so far. Little known in its early stages, the disease mainly attacked homosexuals, heroin addicts or sex workers, and further marginalized those who suffered from it. “There are doctors who refused to see patients with AIDS,” recalls Denis Goulet. And even when treated, they were doomed to death on short notice. In terms of human tragedies, the AIDS epidemic was one of the most important in history. AIDS is now more treated than ever, but the disease continues to kill around 1 million people a year, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
COVID-19 (2019 to present)
At least 5 million people have died from COVID-19 worldwide. However, this is a conservative estimate, and the actual number could be “two to three times higher,” according to the World Health Organization. Alain Gagnon notes that the pandemic could have been even more deadly. “The big difference with other historical pandemics is that we protected ourselves. Without the masks, without the physical distancing measures and without the vaccines, we would have seen many more deaths, we would have seen flat health systems… If we compare ourselves, we are not doing so badly, ”says -he.
Ignorance and superstition
The speed with which the most recent vaccines have been developed contrasts with the ignorance in which we have long been concerning the means of transmission of viruses, even among the greatest doctors of their time, underlines Denis Goulet. “The word influenza comes from the word“ influence ”, because in the Middle Ages, doctors linked the transmission of the disease to the influence of astrology, to the movement of the planets. Even at XXe century, many thought that epidemics started spontaneously. ”
In Montreal, around the year 1750, more than one in two children died before the age of one. The bulk of these deaths were due to infectious diseases, which fortunately have since been eradicated with vaccines.
Alain Gagnon, demographer from the University of Montreal who works on the history of infections
Smallpox: large mower of the XXe century
An endemic contagious disease that came and went throughout history and mainly affected children, smallpox caused 300 to 500 million deaths worldwide in the 20th century alone.e century. It is four to seven times more victims than did the Second World War (75 million dead). In 1885, smallpox struck hard in Montreal. “It was panic, the health authorities made vaccination compulsory for all residents of the city, but at that time people did not know what it was, a vaccine, and it caused a riot. », Says Denis Goulet. Mass vaccination worldwide eradicated smallpox in 1980. “It is one of the greatest achievements in public health,” he says.
Antivaccines: a modern phenomenon
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Demonstration of an anti-vaccine group in front of the Louis-Joseph-Papineau school, in Montreal
Acceptance of vaccines has often been difficult among part of the population. With the COVID-19 pandemic, what is new is that an entire online ecosystem exists to amplify conspiracy theories about vaccines, notes Denis Goulet. “Before, you could maybe talk about your anti-vaccine opinions to 10 or 12 people at the tavern, and that was it. Today, with Facebook and the like, there is a tremendous amount of exchange. Does this have an impact on vaccination coverage? I would tend to think so. ”