Plague History Spanned Three Pandemics

There have been three major plague pandemics in history. These are the Plague of Justinian in the 6th century, the Black Death in the 14th century, and the Third Plague Pandemic which began in Yunnan Province, China, in 1855. The third pandemic traveled along international shipping routes, and reached port cities across the globe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The World Health Organization considered it active until 1959, when worldwide casualties fell to 200 per year. The pandemic officially ended, but plague never disappeared, and hundreds of cases are still reported worldwide each year.

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