The 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic
I had a little bird,
 Its name was Enza.
 I opened the window,
 And in-flu-enza.

In 1918, a virus spread across the country and across the world.  This flu, called the Spanish Influenza, rapidly infected and killed millions of people across the globe between 1917 and 1920.  Some historians say that anywhere from 50 to 100 million people died because of this flu.  In the United States, more people died of this flu pandemic than all of the Americans who died in wars of the 20th century.  An epidemic occurs when new cases of a disease spread throughout the population in a given time period at a rate and frequency that far exceeds what is expected or deemed "normal"  based upon recent experience.  The word pandemic means a global epidemic; or an epidemic of an infectious disease that is so massive, it spreads over multiple continents.  After we learn more about the history of the 1918 Influenza pandemic, we will delve further into the science of virues (virology) and the science of epidemiology.  Epidemiology is the scientific and medical study of the causes and transmission of disease within a population.  Epidemiologist are like medical detectives.  They attempt to find the origin and track the development of a specific disease based upon the characteristics of the disease and the observable pattern of its spread.  In so doing, they devise protocols that stop the spread of the disease or mitigate its dangerous impact.  Below are links to webpages and videos that provide lots of fascinating information about this medical natural disaster.

The History Channel
http://www.history.com/topics/1918-flu-pandemic

PBS: The Public Broadcasting System               
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/influenza/player/

---

Watch the full episode. See more American Experience.