Flu: The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic by Gina KolataMy review
rating: 4 of 5 starsFascinating account of the search for the virus that caused the 1918 Influenza pandemic. The author also covers some of what scientists have learned from flu outbreaks throughout the 20th century, including how influenza strains from pigs and chickens can be transmitted to humans (and vice versa), and how they can combine to form new, more violent, strains. She also covers the Swine Flu vaccination efforts of 1976 and the problems and lawsuits it caused for the government.
Because the book was published in 1999, I felt the story was not complete. In 1997-1998, the virus that caused the 1918 flu was finally discovered in a few samples of lung tissue preserved from victims and in a body buried in the permafrost of Alaska. Still, questions remained. What caused the flu to breakout in multiple countries at nearly the same time? Had there been a related virus traveling the world 2-3 years before that eventually emerged as the H1N1 virus of 1918? And why did the flu kill so many the 20-40 year old age range, a group that usually had the highest survival rating in other epidemics?
Flu offers an interesting history of influenza outbreaks and research. With explanations in plain English of how viruses spread and change over time, this is valuable reading for anyone worried about the current pandemic.
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