In his op-ed piece, Kilbourne stated his case succinctly, writing that influenza pandemics “have marked the end of nearly every decade since the 1940’s—at intervals of exactly 11 years—1946, 1957, 1968. A perhaps simplistic reading of this immediate past tells us that 11 plus 1968 is 1979, and urgently suggests that those concerned with public health had best plan without delay for an imminent natural disaster.”
