The Flu That Plagued The World


The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History. John M. Barry. Viking. 560 pp. $29.95.

Even with all our medical know-how, influenza -- or the flu -- is a mysterious and often deadly force. Just last fall, a shiver of panic went through the populace as news of dying children was reported. The flu shots many of us had received, thinking they would keep us safe, turned out to be useless.

Just how bad can the flu get? John M. Barry's history of the influenza pandemic of 1918 provides a fascinating and frightening account of sickness, fear, stupidity, scientific exploration and occasional heroism.

The onslaught's details often are gruesome. With blood pouring from their mouths, noses and ears, the victims of the disease turned delirious and died often within hours of showing symptoms. But what is more frightening than how they died is how many died. In Philadelphia alone, almost 5,000 people died in one week. Across the world in India, an estimated 20 million died.

In America, almost no place was safe. Atlantic City, a haven for fun-seekers, turned into a ghost town. Barry writes, "And here, as everywhere, was influenza. Here, as everywhere, there was a shortage of doctors, a shortage of nurses, a shortage of hospitals, a shortage of coffins, its schools closed, its places of public amusement closed . . ."

The 1918 pandemic was especially notable for the fact that many of those who died were in their prime. The disease was so virulent that healthy young people were actually killed by the ferocity of the attack that their immune systems mounted against the virus.

Probably the worst place to be in 1918 was in the military -- not simply because we had become embroiled in a deadly war but because the virus found the crowded barracks and transport ships a perfect breeding ground. More military personnel died from influenza-related causes in 1918 than all the Americans killed in combat in Vietnam.

Many of those deaths could have been avoided. Medical scientists warned about the dangers of overcrowding and troop movement, but their warnings went unheeded until it was too late. Doctors tried to convince public health officials to initiate quarantine procedures, but no politician wanted to panic the country or divert attention from the war effort. The press, under the sway of the government, virtually ignored the horrific reality and created an undercurrent of blind terror.

In addition to the epidemic's story, Barry traces the development of modern medicine and follows the petri-dish adventures of the brilliant men and women who helped turn the United States into one of the great leaders in modern scientific medicine. Ultimately, Barry brings his narrative into the present with provocative implications.

The Great Influenza is educational in the best sense of the word. Most readers will come away with greater knowledge of an important historical event, a new respect for modern medicine and a deeper appreciation for the protective armies inside their own bodies.

Pat MacEnulty is an author who lives in North Carolina.

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