Major U.S. Epidemics

Here's a list of the major outbreaks in U.S history, including locations and the number of deaths.

1793

Philadelphia: more than 4,000 residents died from yellow fever.

1832

July–Aug., New York City: over 3,000 people killed in a cholera epidemic.

Oct., New Orleans: cholera took the lives of 4,340 people.

1848

New York City: more than 5,000 deaths caused by cholera.

1853

New Orleans: yellow fever killed 7,790.

1867

New Orleans: 3,093 perished from yellow fever.

1878

Southern states: over 13,000 people died from yellow fever in lower Mississippi Valley.

1916

Nationwide: over 7,000 deaths occurred and 27,363 cases were reported of polio (infantile paralysis) in America's worst polio epidemic.

1918

March–Nov., nationwide: outbreak of Spanish influenza killed over 500,000 people in the worst single U.S. epidemic.

1949

Nationwide: 2,720 deaths occurred from polio, and 42,173 cases were reported.

1952

Nationwide: polio killed 3,300; 57,628 cases reported.

1957

Nationwide: an Asian flu outbreak killed 70,000 before it was completely eradicated.

1981–Dec. 2005:

total estimated U.S. AIDS cases: 988,376; total estimated AIDS deaths: 550,394 (Centers for Disease Control).

1993

Milwaukee, Wis.: one of Milwaukee's water treatment plants became contaminated with cryptosporidium and killed more than 100; 403,000 cases reported.

2009

in April, H1N1, also known as Swine Flu, breaks out and quickly spreads to more than 70 countries. The Centers for Disease Control reports that between April and October, 22 million Americans had contracted the virus, 98,000 required hospitalization, and about 3,900 people died from H1N1-related causes.

2010

California: an outbreak of whopping cough causes the death of ten infants; 9,477 cases reported.

2012

Nationwide: a meningitis outbreak traced back to contaminated steroid medication shipped to 23 states killed 36; 500 cases reported.