Influenza

                               INFLUENZA

It's 1918, and war is upon us. Thousands have been killed already and everyone is tired and hungry.
Hundreds are killed everyday worldwide and death is everywhere. And then in a small army camp outside Philadelphia a soldier gets sick. He's stuck in bed and he's not feeling his greatest. He has a cough, but thats about it. In a matter of hours after the initial sickness started, the sick young private starts hacking up bloody mucus and saliva and he's having resparatory problems. A couple of hours after that the boy is dead and his body is sent to the surgeon for an autopsy and examination. The doctor cuts open the young soldiers lungs to find them drowned in bloody mucus and bodily fluids. The boy drowned to death, essentially for his lungs were full of liquid. After that another healthy young man gets sick and dies. Then another, and another until the entire army camp is in a frenzy of sick and dying soldiers. But what enemy were these poor soldiers killed by? An enemy we cannot see, an enemy we cannot smell, or taste. An enemy that has killed more people world-wide then any war ever to be held on this planet has and has killed over 100 million people in 1918 alone. This enemy is Influenza.

News.wisc.edu

 Gina Kolata's book "Influenza" explains the story behind the most deadly pandemic ever. It's very informative and thouroughly explains the whole story behind this silent killer, as well as briefly explaining other deadly diseases such as Cholera and Tuberculosis. What I find incredibly interesting is the fact that everyone has gotten Influenza but it just so happens that this insanely deadly strand of this fairly normal disease should happen to make itself known at a time of war, where death is already so common.  If you want to learn more about Influenza check out the CDC's (center for disease control) website.

http://dartmed.dartmouth.edu

BY: WHIT CLARK