The Most Bizarre Deadly Disease Outbreak Conspiracy Theories
Deadly disease outbreaks are occurring at an alarming frequency worldwide. Hardly after one outbreak has been contained, another one breaks out. As these outbreaks are becoming more frequent and lethal than ever before, it is not surprising that there are wild conspiracy theories surrounding them. Here are the top conspiracy theories about Covid-19 Coronavirus and 7 other deadly disease outbreaks.
1. Coronavirus Covid-19 Deadly Disease Outbreak

The US Military Brought Coronavirus to Wuhan During the 2019 Military Games
As of March 12, 2020, the Covid-19 Coronavirus has got the world in a panic. A spokesman for the Chinese government on Thursday promoted a conspiracy theory that the coronavirus was brought to the city of Wuhan by the U.S. military in 2019 during the Military World Games.
John McAfee Calls Coronavirus a Sino-US Conspiracy
John McAfee, the founder of McAfee Antivirus, stated in a podcast on March 12, 2020,
“Look at the death rate outside of the cities. It is 0.16%. What’s the death rate from flu type A and B? 0.17%, so it (Coronavirus) is slightly less deadly than the flu. Please God, this is a false flag if there’s ever been one! What might happen, is a crackdown in China of monumental totalitarian proportions, 1984 type shit, where everybody is rounded up. No one’s allowed to talk, no one’s allowed in, no one’s allowed out. Or it maybe this is a joint venture (between China and the US).“
The Pharmaceutical Companies and the CDC
A viral Facebook post dated January 22nd contains a screengrab of a patent filed by the CDC for what is purported to be a coronavirus vaccine, suggesting that the virus was introduced by the government for pharmaceutical companies to profit off the vaccine.
Coronavirus Originated with Chinese People Eating Bats
Tabloids and conservative blogs posted videos of Chinese people eating bats with headlines that read, “Is this objectively disgusting soup what’s causing the coronavirus outbreak?”
The Virus is No Worse than the Common Cold
“It looks like the coronavirus is being weaponized as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump,” Rush Limbaugh said on February 24th. “Now, I want to tell you the truth about the coronavirus … I’m dead right on this. The coronavirus is the common cold, folks.”
Hand Dryers Can Kill the Coronavirus
In February 2020, Chinese social media was pitching a theory that using a hand dryer for at least 30 seconds would kill the Coronavirus.
Coronavirus is a Bioweapon
The Chinese Ministry of State Security has claimed that the Coronavirus is a bioweapon created by the Central Intelligence Agency to wage war on China.
Senator Tom Cotton (R – AR) supported a conspiracy that the Coronavirus is a bioweapon created by the Chinese government to wage war on the United States.
2. HIV/AIDS Deadly Disease Outbreak

AIDS is one of the deadliest disease outbreaks of the current era. Over 32 million victims have the AIDS virus and there is no cure for this condition. There are several conspiracy theories pertaining to this disease.
Due to its prevalence in Africa, many people think that AIDS is a bioweapon against black people. According to one 1999 survey conducted in California, 27% of respondents believed that the AIDS virus was invented to decimate the population of black people. Another 2005 US survey showed that 20% of people considered the AIDS virus as a biological weapon meant to eradicate black people.
Similarly, one 2004 survey showed that 55 percent of Latin Americans believed that the virus had a cure that was being hidden from the public.
Former president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, put a health minister in place who promoted the use of beetroot and potatoes to treat the AIDS virus. Till 2008, this state of denial led to the deaths of over 350,000 people in the country.
3. Malaria Deadly Disease Outbreak

Malaria kills over 400,000 people around the world, according to WHO. One malaria outbreak in Burundi killed as many people during 2019 as the Ebola outbreak. The deadly disease outbreak infected around half of the country’s population and killed 1800 during a six-month period. The country saw six million cases of the disease during this time.
People in the country believed that the government refused to declare a state of emergency because this may have been seen as a health policy failure. Consequently, it could have jeopardized elections scheduled to take place in about a year.
There are also conspiracy theories about anti-malarial vaccines. When the Ghana Health Service tried to introduce these vaccines, rumors spread that the vaccine was an attempt to decimate the country’s population. Anti-vaccine conspiracy theories will certainly not help contain deadly disease outbreaks.
4. Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is another deadly disease outbreak that struck several African and Middle Eastern countries. Scientists are attempting to control it with the Wolbachia microbe as it helps prevent the malarial bacteria from reproducing.
The introduction of the microbe predictably led to an outbreak of another kind – conspiracy theories. Proponents believe that the Wolbachia microbe increases the chances of infection and helps to actually spread the disease. Another conspiracy theory accuses Bill Gates of using this microbe to decimate the world population.
5. Nipah Virus

Infected bats and pigs spread the Nipah virus. Once infected, a person can quickly pass on this virus to other people. Breathing difficulties, headaches and fever are some of its symptoms. This deadly disease outbreak can ultimately lead to serious complications like brain inflammation and seizures.
A Nipah virus outbreak in the Kerala province of India killed 17 people in 2018. The virus was spread by fruitbats. In June of the same year, the government declared that the deadly disease outbreak was under control. Only one person was infected in Kochi since then and that person has recovered. What is interesting is that authorities arrested two conspiracy theorists in June 2019 since they were involved in spreading rumors about the deadly disease outbreak. They claimed that the pharmaceutical companies were behind the epidemic. According to them, the deadly disease outbreak was meant to increase product sales for these companies. They further claimed that the government was complicit.
The government also had to deal with people giving bad advice. These people claimed that drinking water and changing one’s diet was all that was needed to treat this infection and that a hospital visit was not necessary.
6. Swine Flu

The swine flu is believed to have killed over half a million people around the globe. It was particularly devastating for children as well as the elderly. Although authorities declared in August 2010 that the deadly disease outbreak is now contained, outbreaks continue to occur every year during the flu season.
The swine flu virus has its fair share of conspiracy theories. Billy Corgan, the lead band member of The Smashing Pumpkins, believes the virus was manmade. He also feels that the national emergency declaration by Barrack Obama was unnecessary. He is also against swine flu immunization since he does not trust vaccine makers.
According to another conspiracy theory, the swine flu pandemic is a hoax that WHO instigated with the help of pharmaceutical companies to create worldwide panic.
7. Zika Virus

The Zika virus started spreading in 2015 in Brazil. The deadly disease outbreak soon spread across the Americas and eventually to Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands. The epidemic was over by November 2016. The outbreak spread much fear since it led to birth abnormalities in newborns.
The virus is known to spread through the same species of mosquitoes that spread dengue fever. There is still no vaccine for this virus. Several countries issued travel warnings as a result of this deadly disease outbreak. “Some Wynwood businesses saw revenue drops of up to 40% due to the Zika virus.” according to Scott Cooper Miami, a Florida blog.
Symptoms of this disease may be controlled through adequate fluid intake, rest and certain medications. There is still no medical cure for this infection.
Conspiracy theories suggest that Bill Gates and vaccines are behind this deadly disease outbreak. Another theory has blamed genetically modified mosquitoes as the cause of this outbreak.
8. Ebola Virus

The deadly disease outbreak, Ebola, is believed to have killed thousands in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The numbers may be higher since many cases were never reported.
Conspiracy theories have not helped matters. Sadly, celebrities like Chris Brown said that the Ebola virus is meant to control the population. Other conspiracy theorists claim that the Ebola virus is a US-manufactured bioweapon for killing millions in Africa.