There has been a flurry of reports about the swine flu lately, some reassuring and some causing alarm.  This isn't the first time that this strain of flu has sickened people; reports of the swine flu were documented in 1976 and 1988. 
The CDC has prepared an online document to help educate and prepare the public for this flu.  For a historical perspective of influenza, read The Great Influenza: the Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry.  Photo courtesy of eLibrary.