NOTHING COULD HAVE STOPPED the sweep of influenza through either the United States or the rest of the world—but ruthless intervention and quarantines might have interrupted its progress and created occasional firebreaks. Action as ruthless as that taken in 2003 to contain the outbreak of a new disease called severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, could well have had effect.* Influenza could not have been contained as SARS was—influenza is far more contagious. But any interruption in influenza’s spread could have had significant impact. For the virus was growing weaker over time. Simply
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