For nearly 50 years academic and popular writers ignored the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. A hundred years later, historians can’t get enough of it.
A poster from a world summit in Hong Kong on preparing for worldwide pandemics in June 2010. Despite efforts to develop plans, none is yet in place.
Vincent Yu/AP Photo
Frédéric Keck, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
A scientific question fascinates experts : under which conditions can bird flu virus be transmitted to humans by aerial particles, and what will be the consequences for those who aren’t immune?
The term “epidemic” is now being used for more than infectious diseases. So what does it actually mean?
AAPONE/Ahmed Jallanzo/
The obesity epidemic, the flu epidemic, the opioid epidemic… in the 21st century, everything seems to be an “epidemic”. But what does the term actually mean?
People and animals live side by side – and can have pathogens in common.
Nichola Hill
No one then knew a virus caused the 1918 flu pandemic, much less that animals can be a reservoir for human illnesses. Now virus ecology research and surveillance are key for public health efforts.
More women than men were left standing after the war and pandemic.
Library of Congress
With many men ‘missing’ from the population in the aftermath of the 1918 flu, women stepped into public roles that hadn’t previously been open to them.
A CDC scientist measures the amount of H7N9 avian flu virus grown in a lab.
James Gathany/CDC/Handout via REUTERS
Science has come a long way in the 100 years since the worst flu pandemic in history. But that doesn’t mean that the country is ready for another health disaster.
Don’t believe these 10 common myths about the 1918 Spanish flu.
Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight. Scientists believe flight may influence their immune responses to coronoviruses, which cause fatal diseases such as SARS and MERS in humans.
(Shutterstock)
Scientific studies show that bats may carry “coronoviruses” causing SARS and MERS - without showing symptoms of disease. Could the bat immune system be key to human survival in future pandemics?
Every year in Canada, there is an average of 23,000 cases of lab-confirmed influenza, 12,000 people who need to be admitted to hospital and 3,500 flu deaths.
(Shutterstock)
As influenza season begins in North America, many people wonder whether to get a flu shot. Our expert delves into the pros and cons of the vaccine and how it works.
Vaccines for the flu offer mediocre coverage compared with those for other diseases.
PLRANG ART/Shutterstock
Speaking with: Dr. John Gerrard on infectious diseases
The Conversation, CC BY-ND23.2 MB(download)
William Isdale speaks to Dr. John Gerrard about the constant threat of infectious diseases and what we can do to prevent a deadly pandemic from establishing itself in Australia.
Medical workers move a woman, who is suspected of having Ebola, upon her arrival at Meioxeiro Hospital, in Vigo, northwestern Spain, 28 October 2015.
SALVADOR SAS (EPA)/ AAP
This antivirus software protects health, not computers. Researchers are beginning to combat deadly infections using computer-generated antiviral proteins – a valuable tool to fight a future pandemic.
When a man was diagnosed with Ebola in Dallas in 2014, workers cleared out the apartment unit where he had been staying.
Reuters/Jim Young
President Trump wants to slash global health funding at a time when more investment is needed, not less. This spending can protect Americans – as well as foreigners – from deadly diseases.
Health workers during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The Chinese view of and response to epidemics differs markedly from that developed in the West.
Reuters
Malaria has long menaced the world, but gains have occurred. Those efforts could now be stymied by budget cuts, however. Here’s how a disease that knows no borders could widen its deadly reach.