Ironcladd's Full Review: Secrets of the Dead - Killer Flu
Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie''s plot.
Will H1N1 Be Like the 1918 Killer Flu? Secrets of the Dead.
By
James P. Zaworski
The H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic is upon us. It is the first flu pandemic in about forty years(the last significant one was the Hong Kong flu of the late 1960s). H1N1 has spread at a remarkably rapid rate, reaching all countries in the world in about 6-7 weeeks. So far, it has not proved to be as deadly as other historic pandemics, but since it is a virus, change is an inherent aspect of this microorganism, and the pattern of the current flu pandemic is chillingly very much like the 1918 “Killer Flu”.
Secrets of the Dead is an intriguing documentary series showcased on PBS, the public broadcasting system. Secrets of the Dead is a series that is set up like an investigative report, reexamining famous “cold cases”, as it were, utilizing a fully integrative and multidisciplinary approach. Everything from forensic anthropology, epidemiology, pathology, history, chemistry, and more are used to examine these famous historical deaths, diseases, and cases from the past. Subjects covered range from the Black Death, Tomb of Christ, HIV/AIDS, Day of the Zulu, The Killer Flu, and more. (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/)
The episode in question, Killer Flu, was aired in 2004, and is a chilling preface to current, and future, influenza pandemics.
The “Killer Flu”, also known as the “Spanish Flu”, killed upwards of a conservative estimate of 50 million people, to as many as 100 million people, just after the first world war. It allegedly showed up first in the United States, at a military camp, and soon spread to the front line trenches, spreading easily among the highly concentrated groups of American, Brtitish, French, and German troops. Benign at first, very few people died from this new influenza. However, later in the year, in the fall, the virus had changed, and had spread all over the world in about 6 months, and people began to die by the truckload, with 500 deaths a day in places like Berlin and London.
Historically, influenza can be traced back to about 1100 A. D., and humanity has had to face waves of infection have hit globally, but none with the severity of the 1918 pandemic (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/killer-flu/the-origins-of-influenza).
What I Like About “Secrets of the Dead: Killer Flu”.
This episode reexamines what was previously believed about the 1918 Killer Flu, its origins, and examines the nature of the influenza virus, its biology and ability to mutate endlessly to get around our body’s immune system. Most importantly, the program examines the potential for a new influenza pandemic, and what we can do to protect ourselves from the next “killer flu”.
Biology and History of Influenza Pandemics.
Historically and statistically speaking, every thirty or forty years, there is a significant influenza pandemic that hits the world. None was as deadly as the 1918 Killer Flu. Finding out the origin and biology of the 1918 virus is essential. The genetic code of this virus is something that has eluded microbiologists, and a quest is on to crack that genetic code.
New Evidence.
It is proposed in this episode that the origins of the 1918 flu was not in the United States, but in a small village in France, called Etaples. Conditions for this flu to develop were three: the presence of high concentrations of people, the presence of chickens and other fowl, and the presence of pigs. New human strains of flu usually start in birds, then migrate to pigs, then to humans. H1N1 began and spread in the same way.
Until now, no genetic material from the 1918 flu have eluded scientists, as the virus would kill the patient so quickly, that it did not have time to reproduce itself. However, the microbiology pathologists have gone through samples of lung tissue collected from victims who died in the military, to find traces of the genetic code of the killer flu. Further, proposals for exhuming victims of the 1918 flu are under way.
Lessons and Caution for the Future.
Our mobility and sheer numbers today, and the historical frequency of influenza pandemics, puts all of us at risk. Our current pandemic is chillingly reflective of the killer flu. So far, it is no more deadly than the typical seasonal influenza viruses, and we have a vaccine at last that will hopefully give us full immunity to H1N1. However, if this virus mutates rapidly, as did the killer flu, and a new strain hits in the fall, the vaccine, which was produced to counter the strain from the springtime, may be ineffective.
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