Fresh plague fears have erupted after a suspected lab-linked pneumonic plague incident in Siberia, prompting renewed attention to history's deadliest outbreaks. The concerns follow the death of Daria Shipilova, 28, a technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, after an alleged workplace accident involving Yersinia pestis.
Despite Russian claims that she died of “pneumonia of unknown origin”, authorities have locked down at least three hospitals and quarantined almost 200 contacts, fuelling international tension. The story went global after US President Donald Trump warned the microbes were acting “like an army” and had grown “stronger and smarter”.
The deadliest pandemics in history
The Black Death (1346–1353) was a bacterial plague caused by Yersinia pestis that tore through Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia, killing an estimated 75-200 million people. Victims suffered swollen, painful lymph nodes (buboes), raging fever, dark skin spots and, in some cases, coughing up blood.
The 1918 Spanish Flu (1918–1920) was a viral H1N1 influenza pandemic that swept the world and is thought to have killed 25-100 million. It caused severe breathing distress, high fever, cyanosis (skin turning blue from oxygen loss) and lungs filling with fluid.
The Plague of Justinian (541–549 AD) was another Yersinia pestis outbreak that devastated the Byzantine Empire and the wider Mediterranean, with estimates ranging from 15-100 million deaths. Reports describe groin or armpit swelling, high fever, delirium, tissue necrosis and coma.
More lethal outbreaks
The Columbian Exchange Smallpox (1520–1600s) was a viral catastrophe (Variola major) that ravaged the Americas after European contact, killing an estimated 25-56 million and decimating Indigenous populations. Symptoms included high fever, severe body aches and fluid-filled pustules, sometimes causing blindness.
The HIV/AIDS Pandemic (1981–present) is a global viral pandemic caused by HIV, with around 45 million deaths to date and counting, hitting sub-Saharan Africa especially hard. It destroys the immune system, leading to chronic weight loss, recurring fevers and opportunistic infections like pneumonia and cancers such as Kaposi’s sarcoma.
The COVID-19 Pandemic (2019–present) is a worldwide viral pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, estimated at 7–38 million excess deaths. Common symptoms include fever, dry cough, loss of taste or smell, severe respiratory problems and a dangerous inflammatory reaction affecting the whole body.
Other major plagues
The Third Plague Pandemic (1855–1960) was a major Yersinia pestis wave that killed an estimated 12-15 million, especially in China and India, though it spread globally. It caused swollen glands, high fevers and blackening of fingers and toes (gangrene) linked to septic shock.
The Cocoliztli Epidemics (1545–1548) struck Mexico (New Spain) with a disputed cause (possibly a viral haemorrhagic fever or Salmonella), blamed for 5-15 million deaths. Accounts describe high fever, severe bleeding from the nose, mouth and eyes, a black tongue, jaundice and intense abdominal pain.
The Antonine Plague (165–180 AD) was a deadly epidemic in the Roman Empire, likely caused by smallpox or measles, killing an estimated 5–10 million. Symptoms included fever, painful throat ulcers, dry cough, severe diarrhoea and blistering skin eruptions.
The Cholera Pandemics (1817–present) are a series of bacterial pandemics caused by Vibrio cholerae, originating from India and spreading along trade routes, with total deaths estimated at 1.4-9+ million across multiple waves. It triggers “rice-water” diarrhoea, severe vomiting and rapid dehydration that can turn skin bluish-grey and lead to organ failure.
What is plague?
Scientifically, a plague is caused by Yersinia pestis, and it comes in three forms: bubonic plague, spread by flea bites, causing painful buboes in lymph nodes; pneumonic plague, which spreads person-to-person via droplets, attacks lungs, and victims may cough bright red blood, and without antibiotics it is almost always fatal; and septicemic plague, where bacteria flood the bloodstream, causing tissue death and blackened skin and limbs – the grisly root of the term “Black Death”.
