The Deadliest Flu Ever

In 1918 and 1919, more than a fifth of the world's population caught the flu. And not just any flu--the deadliest flu ever, which caused one of the worst pandemics in history. Before it was over, between 1 and 3 percent of the world's people had perished. That's at least 20 million people worldwide.

The illness was so fast and so deadly that doctors couldn't believe it was influenza. It wasn't like any flu they had ever seen before. A patient who started to feel under the weather on Monday was often dead by Wednesday. Many patients turned a blue-gray hue, as fluid built up in their lungs. "It is only a matter of a few hours then until death comes, and it is simply a struggle for air until they suffocate," reported a doctor at a military base near Boston. "It is horrible."

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