The Deadliest Epidemics in Belgian History - A timeline
Several major epidemics have hit Belgium over the past 200 years.
Discover which were the deadliest.
What is an epidemic?
An epidemic happens when a disease spreads faster or affects more people than usual in a certain place and time. In other words, it’s when more people get sick than what’s normally expected in that area.
1832-1834
Cholera
The first cholera epidemic hit the young Belgian state and caused about 8.000 deaths.
1846-1847
Typhoid
A typhoïd epidemic, aggravated by the subsistence crisis, causes high mortality in West Flanders and Limburg. Approximately 12,000 people died.
1848-1850
Cholera
A big cholera outbreak causes about 23,000 deaths across the whole country.
1854-1855
Cholera
A third wave of cholera hits the country. This time, 7,500 people die.
1859
Cholera
Again, cholera causes devastation: 5,500 die.
1865
Smallpox
A severe smallpox crisis caused 5,800 deaths
1866
Cholera
This fifth wave of cholera ravaged the entire country and killed 43,000 people.
1871-1872
Smallpox
Another smallpox epidemic caused major excess mortality. 34,000 people died.
1883-1885
Cholera
A sixth wave of cholera hit the country and killed XXX
1892-1893
Cholera
The last cholera epidemic of the nineteenth century claimed 1,300 victims.
1918-1919
Spanish flu
The Spanish flu was responsible for an estimated 30,000 to 80,000 deaths in Belgium.
The Ineqkill Digital Atlas of Health Inequalities in Belgium provides detailed information about mortality and diseases in Belgium from 1820 to 2025.
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Pleinlaan 5 (Room 2.17)
1050 Brussels, Belgium
e-mail: sylvie.gadeyne@vub.be
