Hunting the 1918 flu : one scientist's search for a killer virus
"In 1918 the Spanish flu epidemic swept the world and killed an estimated 20 to 40 million people in just one year, more than the number that died during the four years of the First World War. To this day medical science has been at a loss to explain the Spanish flu's origin." "Responding to sustained interest in this medical mystery, Hunting the 1918 Flu presents a detailed account of Kirsty Duncan's experiences as she organized an international, multi-discipline scientific expedition to exhume the bodies of a group of Norwegian miners buried in Svalbard, all victims of the flu virus." "Duncan raises questions not only about public health, epidemiology, the ethics of science, and the rights of subjects, but also about the role of age, gender, and privilege in science. While her search for the virus has shown promising results, it has also revealed the dangers of science itself being subsumed in the rush for personal acclaim."--Jacket
History
xvi, 297 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm
9780802087485, 9780802094568, 0802087485, 0802094562
51041517
Introduction: A Deadly Killer
1. The Spanish Influenza of 1918
pt. 1. An Evolving Team
2. The Quest, 1992-1994
3. Beneath the Crosses, 1994-May 1996
4. First Permission, First Workshop, May-August 1996
5. Archival Samples? CDC Withdraws, August 1996-June 1997
pt. 2. Ground Penetrating Radar
6. New Members and GPR Preparations, June-October 1997
7. Through the Ground Darkly, October 1997
pt. 3. Wrestling with Demons
8. Live Virus? October 1997-January 1998
9. Mill Hill Meeting, February 1998
10. Is It Safe? February-April 1998
11. Scientific Plan, April-June 1998
12. High Stakes, April-August 1998
13. Public Relations Plan, May-July 1998
14. Money Wars, May-August 1998
pt. 4. Exhumations
15. Face to Face, 16 August-5 September 1998
pt. 5. Decoding the Virus
16. Waiting for Results, November 1998-October 1999
17. Fighting for Norway, Fighting for Canada, 11-16 November 1999
18. Sharing Samples? November 1999-November 2000
Conclusion: Promises Kept
Epilogue: Update