Now You Know

What Are The Deadliest Medical Diseases?

These are 3 of the world's most terrifying illnesses- and you thought Ebola was bad? Though Ebola is certainly a terrible disease, other diseases once held a spot as the most terrifying disease for their time.

Author's Note: This will be a compilation lists from several different websites. :)

THE BLACK DEATH: Now known as the plague, this outbreak of disease was so deadly that classrooms across the US still learn about it. It all began in 1347, when 12 Genoese trading ships returned from a journey through the Black Sea, according to History Channel. Italians had long head about a "Great Pestilence" hailing from the East (China, India, Persia and Egypt), but by the time they learned it had arrived on their shores, it was too late. The rats and fleas carrying the disease, caused by the bacteria Yersinia Pestis, had already left the boats and begun infecting the Italians.

From Italy it spread to other parts of Europe, including Paris and London, through the air just as much as pests. Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio described its most apparent symptom best, saying "in men and women alike, at the beginning of the malady, certain swellings, either on the groin or under the armpits... waxed to the bigness of a common apple, others to the size of an egg, some more and some less, and these vulgar named plague-boils." Pus and blood would come out of these boils, and other symptoms like fever, headaches, chills, and weakness would also emerge. Death came quick.

By the time the plague started to subside in the 1350's, about 60% of the European population had been killed, according to the CDC And Prevention.

SMALLPOX: Quite possibly the worst disease known to man, killing about 500 million people between 1880 & 1980, when it became the first disease ever to.be eradicated from Earth. Before then, the virus, which is called either Variola Major or Variola Minor, had been around for at least 10,000 years, passing exclusively between humans through the air- specifically through tiny drops of saliva.

From there, it caused a high fever and body aches, which led to the appearance of a rash (this was when they were most contagious), and then the most obvious sign- small, pus-filled boils. These turned into scars if the person survived, but for the 30% who died, their deaths were met with the appearance of lesions in their eyes, mouth, and other bodily openings. These lesions eventually blackened, peeled off, and emitted a strong odor.

HIV/AIDS: It's transmitted through only certain bodily fluids, such as semen, blood, rectal fluid, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. An infected person typically experiences symptoms like severe flu within the first month of infection, a precursor condition to HIV that's known as acute retroviral syndrome. From there, they go on to a period of latency in which the virus amasses an army of cells that, in time, will begin to destroy the immune system. Once they do this, they not only infect the immune system's T-cells, but also force them to create new viruses.

There is no cure for HIV/AIDS, and even though there are drugs to manage it, going off them will quickly result in the virus rebounding. As the immune system gets weaker, the patient begins to experience rapid weight loss, recurring fever, fatigue, long-term swelling in the lymph glands, sores in the mouth and genitals, pneumonia, red or purple blotches under their skin or in their mouth, memory loss, depression, and other neurological disorders.

Globally, 75 million people are infected with HIV, and about 36 million have died from it.

Source: {http://www.medicaldaily.com/deadliest-diseases-3-worlds-most-terrifying-illnesses-and-you-thought-Ebola-was-bad-305822}

Disease is common, affecting every person at some point in their life. However, there are those unlucky few who contract some of the rarer diseases- those that seem to do the most damage and are often the hardest to treat, let alone cure. Here are ten (or so) disorders and diseases you really want to avoid.