Deaths in early 1918 heralded flu pandemic
By Ben Harder
An examination of New York City death records from early last century suggests that the world’s deadliest flu virus was on the loose in New York several months before it exploded into the 1918–1919 global pandemic.
At the time, that foreknowledge wouldn’t have averted the catastrophe that killed at least 40 million people worldwide, says Donald R. Olson of Columbia University. But nowadays, he adds, a “herald wave” of flu could provide crucial warning of an impending pandemic. “It would give us 6 to 7 months to produce and distribute vaccine,” he says.