Really interesting article in today's Washington Post. Many think today's situation may well track the 1957 Asian Flu.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/24/AR2009082402431.html?hpid=sec-health

As summer gave way to the cooler days of fall, the virus swept through schools across the United States. Because of the time needed for transmission and incubation, it took at least three weeks (and usually five or six) after classes started for peak absenteeism to hit.

...A sample of how the flu hit adult workers was provided by the Bell System, then a nationwide telephone monopoly, which made regular reports on absenteeism from 36 cities. Bell's peak "industrial absenteeism," which was generally not more than 8 to 10 percent of the work force, lagged behind school absenteeism by two to three weeks. Businesses staggered briefly, recovering in a couple of weeks, as did most flu victims.

...By Thanksgiving, life was nearly back to normal...

...Asian flu came back for a third time, in late February, causing another spike in mortality, this time mostly in the elderly.



Edited by Dagny (08/25/09 06:52 PM)