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The Worst Epidemics We’ve Ever Seen

Everyone is freaking out about the Ebola virus and what it potentially means for us here in the US. But did you know we’ve experienced things like this before? Here are some of the scariest epidemics we’ve ever seen. Does it help you sleep better or not?

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Bubonic Plague – Medieval Times – This is probably the most deadly virus we’ve seen in this millennium.

Smallpox – 1633 – 1634 – The smallpox virus took over in colonial America, wiping out roughly 70% of the European population in America.

Yellow Fever – 1793 – 2,000 people died when Yellow Fever hit Philly.

Cholera – 1830-1851 For the 20 years cholera was around, there were 130,000 deaths worldwide a year.

Spanish Flu – 1918 – An astounding 20 million people died in the months this disease spread, which is absolutely scary.

Polio – The US has been polio-free since 1979 but the disease killed thousands in the 50s.

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Asian Flu – 1957 The pandemic was nixed early but it killed 70K Americans.

Mexican Hot Sauce Botulism – 1977 – Botulism comes from improperly canned foods and when a company improperly canned jalapeños, 59 people died.

Cryptosporidium Outbreak in Milwaukee – 1993 – Two water plants in the city became contaminated, infecting more than 400,000 people and killing 100.

California Whooping Cough – 2010 Almost 10 thousand babies caught whooping cough in California, with dozens dying.

HIV/AIDS – This epidemic has spread across the world for the last 30+ years and killed millions.

Ebola – Thousands have died already and we’re all worried about what’s next.

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