The Most Lethal Viruses Known To Mankind

Smallpox

Before the World Health Assembly declared the world free of smallpox in 1980, the virus killed one in every three individuals it infected. More than three hundred million individuals died from smallpox in the twentieth century alone before an effective vaccination came to the rescue. The smallpox patients who survived often went blind and were left with permanent scars. Mortality rates were highest in civilizations in Europe. Symptoms of smallpox included issues like a severe rash, blistering, high fever, and oozing skin sores.

HIV

Since the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was first formally recognized in the 1980s, it has killed more than thirty-six million individuals worldwide. Since then, powerful antiviral drugs have become available to help infected individuals live longer, though there is currently no cure for the condition. The virus tends to spread throughout low and middle-income countries, where ninety-five percent of new infections develop. The virus, which attacks the immune system, is spread through body fluid contact of infected persons by means of sexual intercourse or by sharing needles.