Spanish Flu

Humanity's greatest predator: A laboratory recreation of the H1N1 virus that killed untold millions in 1918. Image: BSIP / Universal Images Group via Getty The coronavirus is nothing next to the supremely deadly flu virus of 1918, at least not yet. But when you delve into the history of that…

Markets have trouble dealing with events outside the bounds of probabilistic outcomes.Even epidemiologists are challenged in framing the potential range of outcomes for a novel virus.Framing the current viral outbreak versus historic pandemics may provide some measure of insight.Coupling the rarity of large-scale public health catastrophes with the backdrop of…

Several readers have asked about the economic impact of the novel coronavirus. The answer is it depends on the severity of the epidemic. Goldman Sachs economists wrote this morning: Our new baseline scenario involves a continued slowdown in infections in China that allows for a slow recovery in high-frequency indicators…

Good post from Nicholas Bagley in 2016 at the Incidental Economist. Every disease provokes its own unique dread and its own complex public reaction, but themes recurred across outbreaks. Governments are typically unprepared, disorganized, and resistant to taking steps necessary to contain infectious diseases, especially in their early phases. Local,…

I’ve written extensively in the past few years on additive manufacturing, often suggesting that additive will spread partly because companies will produce more at home rather than rely on slow global supply chains.  By using smaller, flexible additive factories close to customers, companies can offer products better suited to individual markets.  They…

TOKYO (AP) — A senior member of the International Olympic Committee said Tuesday that if it proves too dangerous to hold the Olympics in Tokyo this summer because of the coronavirus outbreak, organizers are more likely to cancel it altogether than to postpone or move it. Dick Pound, a former…

Concerns are mounting about how long the novel coronavirus may survive on surfaces — so much so that China’s central bank has taken measures to deep clean and destroy its cash, which changes hands multiple times a day, in an effort to contain the virus. It is unknown exactly how long…

(CNN)Concerns are mounting about how long the novel coronavirus may survive on surfaces -- so much so that China's central bank has taken measures to deep clean and destroy its cash, which changes hands multiple times a day, in an effort to contain the virus.It is unknown exactly how long…

Influenza is a deadly virus, with about 290,000 to 650,000 deaths worldwide each year. When pandemics hit, the toll can soar: The Spanish flu of 1918 caused 40 million to 50 million deaths, the Asian flu of 1957 caused 2 million deaths, and the Hong Kong flu of 1968 caused…

The UN health agency on Tuesday announced that "COVID-19" will be the official name of the deadly virus from China, saying the disease represented a "very grave threat" for the world but there was a "realistic chance" of stopping it. "We now have a name for t…