World History

With antibiotics and rest, influenza is not fatal today. Yet at various times, influenza spread across the globe, reaching the stage of a pandemic. The pandemic of 1918-1919 resulted in the deaths of an estimated twenty-five million people worldwide, nearly three times the number of people killed during World War I. While the risk of death is low, influenza adapts to medical advances, and new strains pose serious challenges to existing antibiotic treatments. With accessible language, maps, and charts, this compelling volume analyzes the science and the political implications behind influenza pandemics. Chapters discuss relevant topics including what influence is and what it is not, influenza in the past, the pandemic of 1918, influenza in the twentieth century, and influenza and today and in the future.