Nature’s Zombies
We have identified more than 2,000 viruses, though only 10% infect humans. Scientists used to think human viruses do not affect animals and animal viruses do not affect humans, but we now know that viruses not only jump species, sometimes they combine to create new strains. New strains can present a clear threat to human survival.In 1918 the Spanish flu pandemic was a global killer. Estimates of the dead range from 20-100 million, up to 5% of the population–all within one year. Unlike previous flu pandemics and epidemics, this flu strain killed healthy adults, whereas most flu strains targeted children, the elderly, and the infirmed. More people died in this one-year pandemic than the four years of the bubonic plague.
