CONTENTS By CHAPTER: Text: 1918 Pandemic Influenza Historic Timeline Photographs Newspapers: Early Warnings Newspapers: Indiana Clippings Text: The Deadliest Flu: The Complete Story of the Discovery Text: The Influenza Pandemic Of 1918 Text: The Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918 at Camp Sherman Journal Article: 1918 Influenza: the Mother of All Pandemics Text: Influenza of 1918 (Spanish Flu) and the US Navy Text: A Forgotten Enemy: PHS's [Public Health Service] Fight Against the 1918 Influenza Pandemic Text: Worldwide flu out break killed 45,000 American Soldiers during World War I Text: Old Selfridge Newspaper Highlights Sweethearts, Flu, War Training Text: Pandemic Influenza Storybook - I Survived Text: Pandemic Influenza Storybook - Plantings Text: Pandemic Influenza Storybook - An Immigrant's Tale Text: Pandemic Influenza Storybook - In Memorial Text: Pandemic Influenza Storybook - Finding A Cure Text: Pandemic Influenza Storybook - War Stories Text: Century After Pandemic, Science Takes Its Best Shot at Flu Text: 1918 Spanish Flu Holds Clues to Future Pandemics Text: Scientists Study Old Virus to Predict Impact of Avian Flu Pandemic Text: Doctor Reveals Origin of SARS Pandemic Text: All the City Was Dying Text: How Many Words is a Picture Worth? Text: Using Primary Sources INTRODUCTION Background The 100-year anniversary of the 1918 pandemic and the 10- year anniversary of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic are milestones that provide an opportunity to reflect on the groundbreaking work that led to the discovery, sequencing and reconstruction of the 1918 pandemic flu virus. This collaborative effort advanced understanding of the deadliest flu pandemic in modern history and has helped the global public health community prepare for contemporary pandemics, such as 2009 H1N1, as well as future pandemic threats. The 1918 H1N1 flu pandemic, sometimes referred to as the “Spanish flu,” killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide, including an estimated 675,000 people in the United States.1,2,3,4 An unusual characteristic of this virus was the high death rate it caused among healthy adults 15 to 34 years of age.3 The pandemic lowered the average life expectancy in the United States by more than 12 years.3 A comparable death rate has not been observed during any of the known flu seasons or pandemics that have occurred either prior to or following the 1918 pandemic.3 The virus’ unique severity puzzled researchers for decades, and prompted several questions, such as “Why was the 1918 virus so deadly?”, “Where did the virus originate from?”, and “What can the public health community learn from the 1918 virus to better prepare for and defend against future pandemics?