Endemic, Epidemic or Pandemic?

Many health issues provide stimulus for lessons in economics, privacy vs. public health concerns, illegal vs. legal transport of goods and medicines, laws and ethics. This guide focuses on the current news: an outbreak of mumps in the Midwest and the spread of the H5N1 strain of the influenza virus. The concerns about avian flu also provide opportunity to teach students about the Spanish Flu that killed more than 50 million people around the world and to introduce students to careers in virology and epidemiology. The activities in this guide suggest the range of approaches that can be taken using Washington Post news articles, features, graphics and commentary. Studying etymology, reading of maps and bar graphs, and comparing the Spanish flu to today’s spread of disease — many of the activities cross disciplines.