Recent viral outbreaks of Biblical scale

Infectious diseases are an essential part of our world, affecting virtually every single human being. It is hard to estimate how many times a person gets infected during his life, but still, some statistics could be found in the literature. Every single one of us gets infected by rhinovirus or coronavirus, the causes of the common cold three to four times every year, with children and elderly people even more frequently. Endogenous retroviruses comprise as high as 8% of the human genome, suggesting that infections in the past contributed significantly to the evolution of our species. Infectious and parasitic diseases account for one-quarter of the death cases in the world yearly. However, either due to natural mutations, or engineering on purpose, some pathogens may evolve into highly contagious, devastating pests, able to virtually erase most of the human population. The current paper summarizes some of the deadliest viral diseases, reported in the literature.