We saw this deadly 'Hong Kong' flu coming, but no one could prevent its spread

In 1968, scientists discovered a new strain of flu circulating around Hong Kong. The virus, though, didn't stay put. It soon left Asia and turned into a proper pandemic, traveling around the globe and killing one million people worldwide, including 100,000 in the United States that season.

The deadly virus struck in the U.S. when it usually does, during winter. That year, "kids didn’t care about when Santa came," remembers Susan Donelan, who is now a medical director and assistant professor of infectious disease at Stony Brook University’s School of Medicine. 

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More about Science, Hong Kong, Influenza A, Flu, and Flu Virus

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