Smallpox, cholera and five other diseases caused major epidemics in history with tens of thousands of deaths, but the damage can now be reduced and repelled thanks to vaccines.
World history records many epidemics that caused mass deaths and left severe consequences. In Vietnam, the epidemic also caused severe consequences.
Smallpox
Smallpox is caused by the variola virus, easily spread through the respiratory tract or by contact, with a mortality rate of 30%. Those who survive will suffer complications from infection such as scarring, blindness, arthritis… Since the advent of vaccines in the 18th century, smallpox has gradually been repelled and wiped out in the 1980s.
According to records from Complete history of Dai Viet, our country recorded a smallpox epidemic in the 6th year of Bao Phu (1278), causing many people to die. The second epidemic occurred in Quang Binh in 1848, during the reign of King Tu Duc. According to a report by Quang Binh Chief Envoy Truong Dang De, the epidemic caused more than 4,000 deaths, with Bo Trach district alone recording more than 1,200 deaths in the first three months of the year.
Vietnam also recorded three more smallpox outbreaks, including in 1877 in Thua Thien – Hue, in 1879 in five districts of Hue including Phu Loc, Huong Thuy, Huong Tra, Phu Vang, Quang Dien; from November 1887 to June 1888 in Quang Ngai.
Thousands of deaths were recorded each time an epidemic appeared, forcing the Nguyen court to coordinate with physicians from the West to widely vaccinate and prevent the disease from recurring.
Illustration of smallpox. Image: Independent UK
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Cholera is caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria, causing people to have constant and repeated diarrhea. According to statistics, the world experienced seven cholera epidemics, tens of millions of people died in 200 years.
According to the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, cholera first appeared in our country in 1850, recording two million cases. From 1910 to 1938, about 5,000 to 30,000 people were infected with the disease nationwide.
El Tor cholera first appeared in the South in 1964 with 20,009 cases, of which more than 800 died. By 1975, in the Central and Southern regions, cholera became endemic, with hundreds of patients recorded each year.
The epidemic spread to the Central Highlands in 1994, spread to the North after 1975, and broke out in all three regions from 1993 to 2004, but the scale was not large. Since the end of 2007, cholera has returned, breaking out in 19 northern provinces and cities, but no deaths have been recorded.
Plague
Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The disease progresses acutely with symptoms of severe systemic infection and toxicity. People are infected with disease-causing bacteria from rodents such as rabbits, mice… through infected fleas as an intermediary. In Vietnam, the main disease vector is the Xenopsylla cheopis flea that lives mainly on mice.
Plague is endemic in many countries and regions around the world. In 1989-2003, there were 38,310 cases and 2,845 deaths from 25 countries. The disease causes many terrible pandemics, claiming the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world.
In Vietnam, in 1899, the plague started on a small scale in three communes of Phuong Sai, Ngoc Hoi, and Vinh Diem (Vinh Xuong district, Khanh Hoa) causing 33 deaths. However, from 1960-1970, each year our country had about 10,000 cases, ranking first in the world. The number of cases decreased sharply to only about 140 cases per year in the following years. To date, there have been almost no recorded cases of plague.
Flu season 2009
According to statistics, each year the world has about 1 billion people infected with influenza, and 650,000 people die. The elderly, those with underlying health conditions, pregnant women, and young children are at the highest risk of death.
Among major epidemics in the world, the 2009 influenza A/H1N1 pandemic broke out strongly and had the greatest impact on Vietnam. The first case was recorded on May 26 and quickly spread nationwide by December, recording more than 10,000 cases and 22 deaths due to H1N1 flu.
Currently, quadrivalent influenza vaccines are up to 90% effective in preventing 4 common influenza strains: A/H1N1, A/H3N2, B/Victoria, B/Yamagata. Children from 6 months of age and adults need a flu booster every year to have protective immunity.
Doctor at Ho Chi Minh City Tropical Hospital treating people infected with Covid-19, April 2023. Image: Quynh Tran
Covid-19
In Vietnam, the first case of Covid-19 was recorded on January 23, 2020. By the end of 2023, there will be more than 11 million cases nationwide and more than 43,000 deaths. Vietnam went through 2 phases of epidemic prevention with 4 outbreaks. By October 2023, Covid-19 was classified from group A infectious disease to group B.
Hepatitis A
According to the Department of Preventive Medicine, in 2013, Kon Tum recorded a hepatitis A outbreak with 45 cases. In 2015, nearly 90 people in Chiem and Dak Nang communes (Kon Tum) got sick. In 2019, Dak Lak detected an outbreak with 80 cases, of which 65% were students.
Measles
Vietnam records measles epidemics every 4-5 years, the two most recent cycles being 2019 and 2014 with a high increase in measles cases, with more than 110 children dying in 2014 alone. Measles has no specific treatment. Vaccinating with two doses of the vaccine is a way to provide up to 97% immunity to the disease, protect the vaccinated person and avoid transmitting the disease to high-risk subjects.