Telling the truth is crucial when it comes to managing pandemics, says John Barry

On the one hand, we have the enormous strides made in the fields of medicine and technology; on the other, we have mankind's enduring proclivity for procrastination when faced with the relentlessness of nature. 

In a discussion with American historian John Barry, author of the New York Times best-seller "The Great Influenza," Kathimerini examines some of the key factors separating the pandemics of 2020 and 1918.

How did the Spanish flu appear in 1918? What happened?

Same as today… an animal virus jumped species into humans and spread widely. It did not start in Spain. It probably started in either China, the US, France, or Vietnam.
Which countries were affected by that pandemic and how many deaths did it cause?

Everywhere in the world. It killed 50-100 million people, which adjusted for population would be 220...