list of human disease case fatality rates list of human disease case fatality rates human infectious diseases may be characterized by their case fatality rate (cfr), the proportion of people diagnosed with a disease who die from it (cf. mortality rate). it should not be confused with the infection fatality rate (ifr), the estimated proportion of people infected by a disease-causing agent, including asymptomatic and undiagnosed infections, who die from the disease. ifr cannot be higher than the cfr and is often much lower, but is also much harder to calculate. data are based on optimally treated patients and exclude isolated cases or minor outbreaks, unless otherwise indicated. disease type treatment cfr notes reference(s) transmissible spongiform encephalopathies prion no cure =100% includes creutzfeldt–jakob disease and all its variants, fatal familial insomnia, kuru, gerstmann–sträussler–scheinker syndrome and others. no cases of survival. rabies viral untreated ≈100% preventable with vaccine and pep but, once the symptoms manifest, the cfr is almost always 100% fatal. some who survived were simply vaccinated too late, after symptoms started; more recently, at least 3 individuals have survived after being placed in a medically induced coma. african trypanosomiasis parasitic untreated ≈100% visceral leishmaniasis parasitic untreated ≈100% granulomatous amoebic encephalitis amoebic infection no cure 90% 150 cases worldwide, only < 10 survivors have been identified. aids/hiv infection viral untreated 90% : 1 primary amoebic meningoencephalitis amoebic infection no cure % amphotericin b has shown efficacy in the limited survivorship population. around 7 documented survivors glanders, septicemic bacterial untreated 95% the rate drops significantly to >50% with treatment. smallpox variola major – specifically the malignant (flat) or hemorrhagic type viral untreated ≈95% the rate dropped significantly to 10% with effective treatments.eradicated. : 28 anthrax, specifically the pulmonary form bacterial unvaccinated and untreated > 85% early treatments lower the cfr to 45% as seen in the 2001 amerithrax letter attacks.monoclonal antibodies (obilotoxaximab & raxibacumab) could lower this further. : 88 macanine alphaherpesvirus 1 viral untreated ≈80% early treatment including aciclovir can improve prognosis. aspergillosis, invasive pulmonary form fungal opportunistic w/copd, tuberculosis and immuno-compromised % smallpox, variola major – in pregnant women viral unvaccinated > 65% eradicated. : 88 influenza a virus subtype h5n1 viral ≈53% mucormycosis (black fungus) fungal % tularemia, pneumonic bacterial untreated ≤ 60% : 78 ebola virus disease – specifically ebov viral unvaccinated and untreated % prognosis improved by early supportive treatments as seen in the west african epidemic and the kivu outbreak. marburg virus disease – all outbreaks combined viral untreated % 23% in 1967 when it was first identified and 90% in 2004-2005 when the worst outbreak of the disease occurred. galidesivir has shown promise in treating filoviridae cryptococcal meningitis fungal co-infection with hiv % 6 month mortality is >=60% with fluconazole-based therapy and 40% with amphotericin-based therapy in research studies in low and middle income countries. anthrax, gastrointestinal, intestinal type bacterial unvaccinated and untreated > 50% : 27 plague, pneumonic bacterial unvaccinated and untreated ≈100% : 58 tetanus, generalized bacterial unvaccinated and untreated 50% cfr drops to % with effective treatment. tuberculosis, hiv negative bacterial vaccinated 43% vaccines have been developed but have been frequently dismissed for having received controversial and improper testing on african populations. plague, septicemic bacterial unvaccinated and untreated % : 58 baylisascariasis parasitic ≈40% with occurrence of neural larva migrans; early, aggressive treatment necessary for survival, but only 2 full recoveries from nlm ever documented hantavirus infection viral 36% ribavirin may be a drug for hps and hfrs but its effectiveness remains unknown, still, spontaneous recovery is possible with supportive treatment. middle eastern respiratory syndrome (mers) viral 34% galidesivir has shown promise in treating coronaviridae eastern equine encephalitis virus viral ≈33% bubonic plague bacterial unvaccinated and untreated % : 57 anthrax, gastrointestinal, oropharyngeal type bacterial % : 27 smallpox, variola major viral unvaccinated 30% : 88 varicella (chickenpox), in newborns viral untreated ≈30% where the mothers develop the disease between 5 days prior to, or 2 days after delivery. : 110 dengue haemorrhagic fever (dhf) viral untreated 26% dengue haemorrhagic fever is also known as severe dengue. murray valley encephalitis (mve) viral no cure % no specific treatment; usually involves supportive care. hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (hps) viral untreated ≈21% galidesivir has shown promise in treating bunyavirales tularemia, typhoidal bacterial untreated % : 77 leptospirosis bacterial <% : 352 meningococcal disease bacterial unvaccinated and untreated % typhoid fever bacterial unvaccinated and untreated % : 665 legionellosis bacterial ≈15% : 665 severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) viral 11% galidesivir has shown promise in treating coronaviridae. intestinal capillariasis parasitic untreated ≈10% visceral leishmaniasis parasitic ≈10% botulism bacterial toxin treated < 10% untreated foodborne botulism is thought to be ≈50% diphtheria, respiratory bacterial unvaccinated and untreated ≈% yellow fever viral unvaccinated 7.5% pertussis (whooping cough), infants in developing countries bacterial unvaccinated ≈3.7% : 456 smallpox, variola major viral vaccinated 3% : 88 cholera, in africa bacterial ≈% with proper treatment, may be less than 1%, while without treatment may reach 50% 1918 (spanish) flu viral treated % varies with population, up to 22% in western samoa angiostrongyliasis parasitic ≈2.4% from hawaiian cases. measles (rubeola), in developing countries viral unvaccinated ≈% may reach % in some localities. : 431 brucellosis bacterial untreated ≤ 2% : 87 hepatitis a, adults > 50 years old viral unvaccinated ≈1.8% : 278 coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) viral unvaccinated &treated with unspecific treatments 0.5-1% depends largely on the age group of the person. lassa fever viral treated ≈1% 15% in hospitalized patients; higher in some epidemics. mumps encephalitis viral unvaccinated ≈1% : 431 pertussis (whooping cough), children in developing countries bacterial unvaccinated ≈1% for children 1–4 years old. : 456 smallpox, variola minor viral unvaccinated 1% : 87–88 venezuelan equine encephalitis (vee) viral < 1% : 97–98 anthrax, cutaneous bacterial < 1% : 27 seasonal influenza, worldwide viral largely unvaccinated,treated < 0.1–0.5% depends largely on the age group of the people. malaria parasitic ≈0.3% hepatitis a viral unvaccinated % : 278 polio viral without artificial breathing support ≈0.1%, varies by age: 2-5% for children and up to 15-30% for adults 0.5% of all infected become paralysed. of those, about % die. asian (1956–58) flu viral ≈0.1% hong kong (1968–69) flu viral ≈0.1% influenza a, typical pandemics viral < 0.1% varicella (chickenpox), adults viral unvaccinated 0.02% : 110 hand, foot and mouth disease, children < 5 years old viral 0.01% varicella (chickenpox), children viral unvaccinated 0.001% : 110