THE DOOMSDAY FLU

As the world emerged from World War I in 1918, an even greater catastrophe was brewing. Known as "La Grippe," the Spanish Influenza epidemic sickened 525 million people, killing 21 million in all. It was worse than the bubonic plague of medieval times that claimed up to 70 percent of some European cities. It was responsible for over half the deaths of American soldiers in the infected areas. The Spanish flu struck randomly but was concentrated on those ages 20 to 40. In effect, the planetary lifespan average was reduced by a decade with one fifth of the world's population contracting the disease.