AIDS Pandemic – 1980 to present
It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the AIDS epidemic began. The first death assumed to be caused by Acquired…
Spanish Toxic Oil Syndrome – 1981
It started with the death of eight-year-old Jaime Garcia in his mother’s arms on the way to hospital. When doctors…
Tainted Blood on the NHS – 1973
Described as ‘the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS’, the tainted ‘Hemofil’ blood product that was used…
Iraqi Seed Grain Poisoning – 1971-1972
After a series of disastrous harvests in the late 1960s, Saddam Hussein applied for an aid shipment of 90,000 tons…
Thalidomide – 1959-1969
Images of the effects of Thalidomide are firmly etched into the public consciousness. What was originally seen as a safe…
The Cutter Incident – 1955
Poliomyelitis is a peculiarly nasty, highly contagious disease of the central nervous system that all too often leaves its victims…
Minamata Disease – 1932-1968
Doctors first noticed something strange in the Japanese coastal town of Minimata towards the end of April 1956. Patients were…
Jamaica Ginger (Ginger Jake) – 1920 and onwards
It goes by the name of ‘potcheen’ in Ireland, ‘hooch’ or ‘moonshine’ in North America and batti sarai in India.…
Sleeping Sickness Epidemic – 1915-1928
The ‘sleeping’ or ‘sleepy’ sickness that swept the world in the 1920s had nothing in common with the tropical disease.…
Spanish Flu Pandemic – 1918-1919
Despite its name, the flu pandemic of 1918 did not start in Spain. In fact it spread there rather late…