Pandemics: avoiding the mistakes of 1918

Nature. 2009 May 21;459(7245):324-5. doi: 10.1038/459324a.

Abstract

As bodies piled up, the United States' response to the 'Spanish flu' was to tell the public that there was no cause for alarm. The authority figures who glossed over the truth lost their credibility, says John M. Barry.

Publication types

  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Communication / history*
  • Disease Outbreaks / history*
  • Disease Outbreaks / prevention & control
  • Federal Government*
  • History, 20th Century
  • History, 21st Century
  • Humans
  • Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype*
  • Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype
  • Influenza, Human / history*
  • Influenza, Human / mortality
  • Influenza, Human / prevention & control
  • Influenza, Human / psychology*
  • Internationality
  • Panic
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / epidemiology
  • United States