Special Issue: Pandemics

MORBID CURIOSITY--Our fascination with disease and death is intellectually rewarding and it saves lives.
BY DRUIN BURCH

PROFILING A PANDEMIC--Who were the victims of the Spanish flu?
BY SVENN-ERIK MAMELUND

DEATH MARCH OF 1918--The flu arrived in waves.
BY GERARDO CHOWELL, LONE SIMONSEN, AND CÉCILE VIBOUD

AUTOPSY OF A DEADLY VIRUS--Genes from 1918 are still in circulation.
BY JEFFERY K. TAUBENBERGER

IN FLEW ENZA--Investigators are concerned about new avian flu viruses.
BY NANCY J. COX

TRACKING ANCIENT PLAGUES--The DNA of time travel
BY MARIA A. SPYROU AND KIRSTEN I. BOS

THE MYSTERY OF COCOLIZTLI--Could a calamitous disease of sixteenth-century Mexico strike again? BY RODOLFO ACUÑA-SOTO

STAMPING OUT SMALLPOX--Cooperation, resources, and a venerable  vaccine combined for a landmark success.
BY WILLIAM H. FOEGE

MALARIA DOLLARS AND SENSE--Lessons from the post–World War II eradication program remain relevant today.
BY DAVID L. SMITH AND JUSTIN M. COHEN

POLIO’S LAST STAND?--Despite setbacks, a fearsome disease is at bay.
BY MICHAEL J. TOOLE

HIV/AIDS—A HISTORY--Thirty-six years ago, a new plague took the world unawares.
BY KEVIN M. DE COCK

FROM CONTAMINATION TO CONTAINMENT--A perfect storm led to the worst Ebola epidemic to date.
BY CORDELIA E. M. COLTART, ANNE M. JOHNSON, AND DAVID L. HEYMANN

IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH--Diseases seize opportunities, but so can we. BY DAVID L, HEYMAN