THE FLU THAT KILLED 50 MILLION

PBS: Friday 18 August at 20:25

The Armistice of November 1918 brought the curtain down on four years of savage conflict that had seen millions slaughtered in the trenches and elsewhere. Yet, following closely on its heels, was a deadly pandemic that would claim countless more lives.

Although its earliest documented case was in the USA, and its origins remain indeterminate, the so-called ‘Spanish Flu’ soon found its way to a Europe still locked in battle. Ravaging populations already weakened by warfare, it would prove every bit as lethal as machine guns and poison gas.

Drawing upon new evidence, this documentary focuses on the human stories behind the rapid spread of the pathogen and the desperate efforts to get to grips with this invisible, indiscriminate enemy .