| Fatal infections The 1996 WHO report specifically focusses on infectious diseases, many of which caused lethal epidemics during the year 1995 | ||
| Disease | Location | Reported cases |
| Dengue fever | Central and South America (14 countries) | 600,000 |
| Cholera | South America, Africa and eastern Europe | 384,000 |
| Yellow fever | The Americas (began in Peru in 1950) and western Africa (Liberia) | thousands of cases |
| Ebola fever | Zaire | 316 (about 80% died) |
| Diphtheria | Eastern Europe (began in the Russian Federation in 1990 and then spread to 15 countries) | 100,000 |