Third plague pandemic

Summary

The third plague pandemic was a major plague pandemic that began in Yunnan, China, in 1855. Its name refers to its status as the third of at least three known major pandemics caused by the spread of the bacterium Yersinia pestis. This episode of bubonic plague spread to all inhabited continents, and ultimately led to at least 15 million deaths worldwide, including 10-12 million in British Raj India and 2.2 million in China. Though it is estimated to have killed fewer people than the second plague pandemic, the third plague pandemic had one of the highest death tolls among pandemics in human history.