In 1918, as the First World War was finally coming to a bloody end, another deadly battle was just beginning.
Spanish flu arrived in this country in September of that year. And in just a few months, it had killed as many as 50,000 Canadians. Worldwide, between 50 and 100 million people died.
Francis Stevens was 12-years-old when the flu spread through his Vancouver neighbourhood. He remembers the panic it caused.
"They told people not to go anywhere where there was a crowd," says Francis. "That was pressed on people in the papers almost every issue. Don't go out in a crowd."
And unlike flu today, it was the young, the fit and the strong who most often died.
We still don't understand what turned the virus that caused the 1918 flu into a mass killer, so doctors fear it could happen again. But now, at least, we're prepared.
"Canada again is leading the way in terms of research to develop a very quick vaccine," says Dr. Dr. Lindy Samson. "Once we know if there is a pandemic that comes with the specific virus, (we can) make a vaccine very quickly so that we could vaccinate large proportions of the population."
There have been two worldwide flu outbreaks since 1918 -- one in 1958 and another 1968. Neither was deadly, but scientists say we're overdue for another one.
"However this time, researchers can call on an arsenal of medical advances in the fight against the new virus," says Dr. Samson.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Dr. Rhonda Low
