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COVID-19 is far from the first pandemic we’ve faced. While many make comparisons to the 1918 flu, we shouldn’t forget about challenging viral and bacterial illnesses of the past like the 1930 parrot fever pandemic, AIDS or Legionnaires outbreaks.

And even with improved medical and scientific knowledge about how to cure and prevent illness, we can’t discount viruses and pandemics. As author Mark Honigsbaum writes, “the only thing that is certain is that there will be new plagues and new pandemics. It is not a question of if, we are told, but when.”

MPR News host Kerri Miller and Honigsbaum talked Tuesday to discuss what we can learn from pandemics and illnesses of the past as we continue to face the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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Medical science has grown by leaps and bounds in the past century. Despite that, the COVID-19 pandemic proves that viruses and bacteria can still surprise us and turn into major health crises. We turn to a medical historian to discuss the limits of scientific knowledge and the role of humans, past and present, in the spread of a disease.

What to learn from pandemics of the past

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