Mpox, HIV, COVID, Measles: Pandemics of the 21st Century

Mpox, HIV, COVID, Measles: Pandemics of the 21st Century

December 22, 2025 Dr. Jennifer Chen Health

Here’s a summary of the infectious ⁢diseases discussed ⁤in the text, organized for clarity:

1. HIV/AIDS

* ‌ Origin: First identified⁤ in Kinshasa,DRC. Detected in⁣ Belgium in 1985.
* Impact: Highest​ number of deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (over 23.2 million). 20,000-30,000 new cases annually in the EU. 19,325 infected patients monitored in belgium in 2024. Increasing new ⁤infections as 2021.

2. Ebola Virus Disease

* ​ Timeline: Outbreaks ‍since 1976,primarily in Central Africa. Major epidemic 2014-2016 (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia – 28,616 infections, 11,310 deaths). Outbreaks in DRC (2018-2020) and Uganda ​(2022).
* ‍ ⁢ Transmission: Contact with infected animals or bodily fluids of infected people.
*⁣ Belgium: No confirmed cases to date.

3.Dengue & ‌Chikungunya

* Transmission: Tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus).
* ‌ Timeline: Chikungunya since 2007, Dengue since 2010, gradually spreading in Europe.France had 11 ‍dengue and⁣ 484 chikungunya cases ⁤in 2025.
* Impact: Dengue is more ⁤lethal (12,000-20,000 deaths ‍worldwide annually, can be hemorrhagic). ‌Both have flu-like symptoms.Belgium had 218⁣ imported⁢ dengue and ⁤14 chikungunya cases⁤ in 2023.

4. Mpox (Monkeypox)

* Origin: ⁤First identified in humans in 1970 in the‌ DRC.
* Timeline: Global epidemic in July 2022 (87,972 cases globally, 789 in Belgium, 147 deaths in 110 ​countries). Resurgence in August 2024,with 53 cases in Belgium by early 2025 due​ to a more contagious variant.
* Type: Zoonotic disease (animal to human). Related to the eradicated smallpox virus.

5. A/H1N1 Flu

* Past Impact: Responsible for the ‍1918-1919 Spanish Flu pandemic (20-50 million deaths).
*‌ ⁢ Recent Timeline: reappeared in a new form in 2009-2010.