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In Flew Enza — What you should know about the flu

By J.A. Tosti On February 13, 2013 ·

I had a little birdy,
Her name was Enza.
I opened up the window
And in flew Enza!
[Jump-rope song sung by children during
the 1918 Influenza Epidemic]

We are, at present, concerned about the fact that we may be long overdue for an influenza pandemic in which victims and fatalities run much higher than the norms we’ve seen recently. According to University of Reading Molecular Virologist, Ian Jones, “The notion of the big one comes from the precedent of pandemics at regular intervals in the past…They have all been flu…But we haven’t really had a big flu since 1968, so if there is a cycle, we’re quite overdue for it.”

The problem with a possible pandemic of this nature is that it is impossible to accurately forecast; and, when it does happen, it will be upon us before we really have time to know for sure if it is in fact coming.

When trying to make projections, it’s important to keep in the back of one’s mind that the greatest flu epidemic in recorded history (the 1918-1919 epidemic) came in “waves”. Nobody knows for sure where this flu came from or how it turned into such a virulent strain. All we know is that it began just like an ordinary flu and then, somehow, it changed. When it first began, it infected people during the Spring of 1918. Most folks were sick for about three days with the usual chills and fever, and that was about it. Few people died. It seemed to be what could be described as a normal flu season. Then it disappeared. That Fall, however, it came back with a vengeance. What returned during this “second wave” was Read Full Article »

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In Flew Enza — What you should know about the flu

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