Scott Gordon

Series: The Flu And Wisconsin's Public Health

No two flu seasons are alike — from one year to the next, different types of the influenza virus dominate. Every year, virologists, health officials and healthcare providers marshall their resources to prevent and treat infections. When a flu season is particularly tough, as was the case in 2017-18, the illness tests limitations and vulnerabilities in the public health system. Wisconsin plays a crucial role in a nationwide network of influenza surveillance, which is also on guard for the emergence of a global flu pandemic. Meeting future challenges of influenza hinges on relationships that connect scientists and healthcare providers at local, state, federal and international levels.
 
Series: The Flu And Wisconsin's Public Health

The Impacts Of The 1918 Influenza Pandemic In Wisconsin

Audio: 
Rob Ferrett
Wisconsin Public Radio
Shared via
WPR
COVID-19 isn't the first deadly viral disease to have a big effect on Wisconsin. Steven Burg, a history professor at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, discusses the 1918 influenza pandemic and how the state responded to it more than a century ago.
Series: The Flu And Wisconsin's Public Health

Struggling Through A 21st Century Flu Season With 1940s Science

Hayley Sperling
WisContext
The 2017-18 influenza season is well underway across the United States, and it's proving to be a rough one.
Series: The Flu And Wisconsin's Public Health

A Demanding Flu Season Tightens Squeeze On IV Bag Supplies

Scott Gordon
WisContext
A spike in flu cases comes as healthcare providers continue to deal with a shortage of one of their most common and crucial tools: pre-filled IV bags.
Series: The Flu And Wisconsin's Public Health

Wisconsin's Role As A Hub In U.S. Flu Surveillance

Scott Gordon
WisContext
As Wisconsinites push through a hard flu season, public-health officials are following a distinct mix of influenza strains and worrying about the effectiveness of this year's vaccines, but they're also thinking a lot about an intricate disease-tracking network that's been built up over time.
Series: The Flu And Wisconsin's Public Health

Wisconsin Hospitals Adjust To Unusual Length Of IV Bag Deficit

Scott Gordon
WisContext
Healthcare providers across the United States are longing to get back to a steady drip.
Series: The Flu And Wisconsin's Public Health
Series: Wisconsin Historical Society Press Excerpts

When The 1918 Influenza Pandemic Struck Wisconsin

Richard L. Pifer
Marjorie Hannon Pifer
In 1918, the Spanish flu attacked young, otherwise healthy adults, killed quickly and often, and leapt from Europe to Wisconsin with unimaginable speed. Its cause was unknown; its mode of transmission was unknown; how to stop it was unknown.
Series: The Flu And Wisconsin's Public Health

Flu's Seasonal Curve Swelled In 2017-18

Scott Gordon
WisContext
No one questions that the 2017-2018 flu season was tough, but how unusual was it really?
Series: The Flu And Wisconsin's Public Health

Evolving Research Is Exposing How Flu Crosses The Species Barrier

Will Cushman
WisContext
The 1918 influenza pandemic prompted intense interest in the disease, including in Wisconsin, placing scientists in the state at the vanguard of flu research over the ensuing century.
Series: The Flu And Wisconsin's Public Health

Why The Scientific Debate Over A UW Bird Flu Study Isn't Going Away

Will Cushman
WisContext
A UW-Madison laboratory is set to resume experiments that could build the foundation of an early warning system for flu pandemics, but critics say its approval lacked transparency and creates unnecessary risks.
Series: The Flu And Wisconsin's Public Health

What Made The Great Flu Pandemic Of 1918 So Momentous

Samantha Nash
PBS Wisconsin
When a new and dangerous respiratory disease started racing around the globe in early 2020, it had been just over a century since humankind endured the 1918 influenza pandemic.