"Informative and objective, Flu is a social history of one of the world's most deadly viruses - a virus that in 1918 claimed the lives of around 50 million people, many more than the 19 million killed throughout the whole of the First World War." "From, the first recorded mentions of a flu-like virus in ancient writings, through to the sophisticated monitoring systems in place today, the history of influenza is a history of man's desperate attempt to understand the causes and mitigate the effects of an illness that, in its most virulent form, can kill in days." "The book documents social, historical and medical reactions to this deadly virus, from superstitious ideas about the weather and environmental factors being to blame to early attempts in the 18th century to apply reason and evidence to the problem, and the latest research and drug development. Our modern world may be a lot better equipped to understand and deal with the influenza virus but international air travel and high population densities mean that, if or when a strain of the virus to which we have no immunity occurs, it would be a race against time to produce the vaccine and antivirals necessary to protect the world's population. In all likelihood, many millions would die." "The present fear is that the deadly H5N1 avian flu strain will mutate into one that is capable of human-to-human infection. Flu discusses how that could happen and explores the safeguards the international community, including bodies such as the World Health Organization, are putting in place to try to stop that happening. The book concludes with the latest on the ongoing search for a cure and the necessity of worldwide cooperation."--Jacket.