Influenza

I wonder why something as devastating as the 1918 Spanish Flu epidimic is so largely forgotten? So little was written about it at them time, it's one of those forgotten episodes of our history.

According to the narrator, more Americans died in a few months than have died in all of our wars: Over 1,300,000. Worldwide, estimates range from a minimum of 20 up to 50,000,000; 13,000,000 died in India alone.

Smaller epidimics in 1957 and 1968 also killed their share: I remember being so sick with the Hong Kong flu in '57 that my parents despaired of my life.

Now the H5N1 "Bird flu" is crossing the globe. Fortunately it hasn't made the necessary mutations to become epidimic; hopefully it never will. Hopefully our science is better prepared to deal with it in the event this should happen.

I thought this episode of AE dealt with the topic in a superb manner. The intermingling of larger and smaller pictures told the story very well. I thought it particularly sad when William Maxwell (the small boy/old man) from Lincoln, IL told of his mother's death; after so many years you could still feel his grief.

Science has discovered the virus responsible for this particular flu, but it's one of the most changeable viruses in existence. I only hope we're prepared.

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Is that a rumor or did you just make that up? -Mom