A LESSON FROM THE 1918 FLU

Those cities in the US that were the most proactive generally had the lowest mortality rates in the 1918 pandemic.

Why the 2009 flu is similar, in some ways, to the 1918 flu:
1 This is a new virus, no one is immune.
2 It transmits from one human to the next
3 Like the 1918 flu, most of the reported mortality is in the 20 to 40 year old group.
4 Like the 1918 flu, it broke out in March.

The 2009 flu may not be especially virulent, unlike the 1918 virus which was devastating. In the most extreme cases,back then. the flu symptoms began in the morning and the victim expired by sunset.

It remains to be seen if this is the 1st wave of the pandemic, to be followed by a more virulent form in a few months. Should that occur, it would be a repeat of the 1918 event. In that year, a spring outbreak was relatively mild, which was then followed by a second wave, in August, that was deadly.

As the Southern Hemisphere enters the regular flu season, everyone will be monitoring the progress of the outbreak.