MANKIND : ''NINE -DEADLIEST VIRUSES- EVER''

AT least nine deadliest viruses have wreaked havoc on the helpless inhabitants of planet Earth till date, killing millions with impunity.

The number of dead over a century ago was equivalent to three to 5 percent of earth's population at the time, making it the deadliest epidemic in human history.

According to the ''Journal of Translational Medicine,''one of the world's leading publications in the field of translational research, this flu outbreak had killed more people in 24 weeks than HIV-AIDS had sent to grave in 24 years.

THE ''US National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health'' states : ''There are 219 virus species that are known to be able infect humans.

The first of these to be discovered was yellow fever virus in 1901, and three to four new species are still being found every year. Following on from the discovery of tobacco mosaic virus in 1892 and foot-and-mouth disease in 1898, the first 'filterable agent' to be discovered in humans was yellow fever virus in 1901.''

The web-site had added : ''For some viral diseases, vaccines and antiviral drugs have allowed us to keep keep infections from spreading widely, and have helped sick people recover.

For one disease - smallpox - we've been able to eradicate it, ridding the world of new cases. Here follow some details of these viruses as reported by the ''Live Science Website".

EBOLA VIRUS

The first known Ebola outbreaks in humans struck simultaneously in the Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976. Ebola is spread through contact with blood or other body fluids, or tissue from infected people or animals.

One strain, Ebola Reston, doesn't even make people sick But for the Bundibugyo strain, the fatality rate is up to 50 percent, and it is up to 71 percent for the Sudan strain, according to the ''WHO''.

RABIES

Although rabies vaccines for pets, which were introduced in the 1920s, have helped make the disease exceedingly rare in the developed world, this condition remains a serious problem in India and parts of Africa. If you don't get treatment there is 100 percent possibility you will die.

H.I.V.

An estimated 36 million people have died from HIV since the disease was first recognised in the early 1980s. Powerful antiviral drugs have made it possible for people to live for years with HIV, but the disease continues to devastate many low-and-middle-income countries, where 96 percent of new HIV infections occur.

Nearly 1 in every 20 adults in Sub-Saharan Africa is HIV-positive, according to the ''WHO''. .

The sadness and historical research into virus and epidemics, that plagued mankind over and ever, continues. The World Students Society thanks author, Sabir Shah/ News International.