"Highlights that influenza is still a real and present threat and
demonstrates the power and limitations of modern medicine." --The Wall
Street Journal "A surprisingly compelling and accessible story of one of
the world's most deadly diseases. It is timely and interesting, engaging
and sobering." --David Gregort, CNN political analyst and former
moderator for NBC's Meet the Press A veteran ER doctor explores the
troubling, terrifying, and complex history and present-day research of
the flu virus, from the origins of the Great Flu that killed millions,
to vexing questions such as: are we prepared for the next epidemic,
should you get a flu shot, and how close are we to finding a cure?While
influenza is now often thought of as a common but mild disease, it still
kills more than thirty thousand people in the United States each year.
Dr. Jeremy Brown, a veteran ER doctor and director of the Office of
Emergency Care Research at the National Institutes of Health, talks with
leading epidemiologists, policy makers, and the researcher who first
sequenced the genetic building blocks of the original 1918 virus to
offer both a comprehensive history and a road map to protect us from the
next outbreak. Dr. Brown explores the terrifying and complex history of
the flu virus and looks at the controversy over vaccinations and the
federal government's role in preparing for pandemic outbreaks. Though a
hundred years of advancement in medical research and technology have
passed since the 1918 disaster, Dr. Brown warns that many of the most
vital questions about the flu virus continue to confound even the
leading experts.
