The number of websites about influenza are a bit overwhelming.  I recommend Fluwikie as a starting point for good information on the topic and an interesting selection of links.  Plan for pandemic provides interesting discussions on influenza and preparedness. Of course, it is always interesting to get the authoritative information on the flu and the government's plans for the flu straight from the horse's mouth:  Government flu site.   The very best information on the current outbreaks of influenza and on infectious disease generally is made available by the International Society for Infectious Diseases.  While you can subscribe to this for free, I think the information is so valuable that you really should donate the requested fee. The University of Michigan Medical School describes some of the U.S. communities that managed to limit the epidemic's spread.  If you scroll far enough down on the page, you will find some very interesting newspaper articles and ads from the pandemic years.  University of Michigan Medical School.  One of my favorites is an advertisement for a record player. "Beat the Spanish 'Flu'."   "Don't let the flu take all the joy out of life.   People must have amusement.   We advise you to GET A PHONOGRAPH.                         Spend your idle hours right at home.   Let it furnish enjoyment during the rage of the epidemic."                                         (phonograph ad)             These news tidbits bring the time, the people, and the scope of the disease to life from stories of arrests of "mask slackers" to the decision not to ban athletic meets because they are held out in the healthful fresh air to the banner headline declaring the epidemic to be waning because only 874 people died in Pennsylvania that day.  There are many interesting news stories on vaccines, then as now, the sure cure for the flu                                                         It was a scary time and people were, of course, desperate for solutions.   Viruses had not yet been discovered.  So the solution depicted below -- spraying insecticides into the air -- probably seemed wise.                                             This image is from a site with good                                             descriptions of what the pandemic                                             was like.  (Spartacus)  It notes, for                                             instance that around 70 million                                             people died of influenza in India. Other photographs can be found at the National Archives & Records Administration and the National Museum of Health & Medicine.   To learn more about my book about how herbs were used to treat influenza in 1918, click here.                                                         Kathy Abascal JD, RH (AHG)

The Great Influenza by John M. Barry is the book to read if you want to learn about the 1918 pandemic.  This book sparked my interest in influenza treatments.

INFLUENZA