1. 412BC Contributed, according to some, to the fall of Athens

2. 1173-4 First outbreak recorded in detail

3. 1580 90% of population of North America infected

4. 1729-30 Relatively few deaths, mainly among the elderly and pregnant

5. 1781-2 Tens of millions infected

6. 1830-1 Thousands dead, mostly elderly

7. 1833-4 Thousands dead, mostly elderly

8. 1878 "Fowl plague", probably avian flu

9. 1889-90 Asiatic flu, 1 million dead

10. 1918-20 Spanish flu, H1N1, 40m dead

11. 1957-8 Asian flu, H2N2, 2m dead

12. 1968-69 Hong Kong flu, H3N2, 1m dead

13. 1976 Swine flu (scare)

14. 1977 Russian flu (scare)

15. 1997-?? H5N1