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> November 19, 1999:
Hour Two: Flu
Imagine a disease so powerful, it killed more soldiers during World War I than combat killed. One that even today is responsible for over 172,000 hospitalizations a year in the United States, at a cost of billions of dollars. It's not Ebola, AIDS, or malaria -- it's the flu. | The 1918 outbreak of "Spanish flu" killed some 20 million people worldwide. It swept quickly through communities, prompting quarantine efforts in some cities. It also infected the consciousness of medical and governmental leaders - when the potential for future outbreaks arose, they were very, very concerned. | 
An electron micrograph of
swine flu. (CDC image) | Flu (or influenza) comes in three basic types - known as types A, B, and C. Type C viruses have never been associated with a widespread outbreak. While type B viruses can cause epidemics, they are generally relatively mild. Type A viruses, however, have been responsible for the most serious epidemics, including the 1918 "Spanish flu," the 1957 "Asian flu," and the 1968 "Hong Kong flu."
The surface of a flu virus has two proteins attached to it, named hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. Each strain of flu is classified by the combination of types of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase attached to it. The 1918 flu was Type A(H1N1).Over time, the structure of these proteins changes slightly - a process known as antigenic drift. The human immune system retains some defenses against different strains of flu as antigenic drift occurs. Occasionally, however, the protein molecules change significantly and suddenly - known as an antigenic shift. When a shift occurs, a new subtype of flu is created, and people generally suffer until the body starts to provide an immune response to the new challenge.
Some scientists studying influenza are attempting to figure out what makes some strains so much nastier than others. Dr. Jeffrey Taubenberger, for example, has sequenced the genes coding for the hemagglutinin proteins of the 1918 flu. However, he says that the 1918 hemagglutinin does not appear to be very different from other flu strains. Other researchers are trying to improve predictions about which types of influenza may be prevalent in the future, to allow pharmaceutical companies to manufacture more effective vaccines. And work on creating drugs to combat the flu is an active area of research as well - four flu-fighting drugs are currently on the market.
On this hour of Science Friday, we'll be talking about the flu, from its devastating history to the lessons for the future that research can provide. Tune in!
Guests:
Gina Kolata
Reporter
New York Times
Author, "Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918."
Princeton, New Jersey
Dr. Edwin Kilbourne
Research Professor- Microbiology, Immunology
New York Medical College
Valhalla, New York
Dr. Jeffery Taubenberger
Chief, Division of Molecular Pathology
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
Washington, DC
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
- Flu, NIAID Fact Sheet
CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases:
PBS: The American Experience | Influenza 1918
The Pennsylvania Gazette: The Flu of 1918
Discovery Online: Epidemic! -- Flu
Time Magazine: THE FLU HUNTERS
MEDLINEplus: Influenza
WhyFiles: Got the flu?
Science Friday: December 19, 1997, Hour 1, Second Half: The Hong Kong Flu This segment produced by:
Annette Heist
Web producer:
Charles Bergquist
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