1957: killer spotted quickly
The 1957 flu - called H2N2 - also spread worldwide. It was much milder than the 1918 killer, but it still killed more than 2 million people.
This time scientists understood that viruses caused flu and a World Health Organization early warning system had been set running for ten years.
When the pandemic potential of the new virus was spotted, a worldwide alert went out, and a vaccine was produced and distributed. But vaccine production proved too little, too late. Experts fear the same will happen today.
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In 1957, like today, scientists used eggs in flu vaccine production - it's a very slow process.
Image: Nat. Mus. of Health and Med. US |
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