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On a spring morning in 1918 Private Albert Gitchell, a cook in the U.S. Army, woke up feeling unwell. His throat was sore and his bones ached and he had a fever.
By midday, over one hundred other soldiers reported symptoms matching Gitchell's. These were, it is claimed, the first recorded cases of the 1918 flu pandemic, or "Spanish Flu". When it was over, up to 50 million people around the world had died from the disease.
Human history is littered with pandemics that have killed millions. On top of the devastating effects such diseases have on families and communities, these high death tolls also damage an economy in lost production and demand, with countries taking years to recover from a deadly disease. Should we, in that case, be doing more to prepare for another?
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By midday, over one hundred other soldiers reported symptoms matching Gitchell's. These were, it is claimed, the first recorded cases of the 1918 flu pandemic, or "Spanish Flu". When it was over, up to 50 million people around the world had died from the disease.
Human history is littered with pandemics that have killed millions. On top of the devastating effects such diseases have on families and communities, these high death tolls also damage an economy in lost production and demand, with countries taking years to recover from a deadly disease. Should we, in that case, be doing more to prepare for another?
...
