Influenza Is Old As History

• “There are persistent stories [in England] of German agents who go about with test tubes filled with influenza germs which are spilled out to overrun the countryside and wage war in behalf of the Kaiser.”• Various theories are put forth that flu is return of the “Russian flu” of 1889-90 and the Black Death, that it is accompanied by natural disasters and extremes of temperature• “Italian writers, describing an epidemic of the disease, spoke of ‘una influenza freddo’ (influence of cold). English doctors supposed the Italian word for ‘influence’ was the name of the disease, hence ‘influenza.’”Newspaper article