to confirm the diagnosis including detecting antibodies to the virus or its RNA. Influenza The Greek physician Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine", first described influenza in 412BC. The first influenza pandemic to be pathologically described occurred in 1510. Since the pandemic of 1580, influenza pandemics have occurred every 10 to 30 years. The 1889–1890 pandemic was attributed to influenza at the time but more recent research suggests it may have been caused by human coronavirus OC43. Also known as Russian Flu or Asiatic Flu, it was first reported in May 1889 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. By October, it had reached Tomsk and the Caucasus. It rapidly spread west and hit North America in December 1889, South America in February–April 1890, India in February–March 1890, and Australia in March–April 1890. The H3N8 and H2N2 subtypes of the influenza A virus have each been identified as possible causes. It had a very high attack and mortality rate, causing around a million fatalities. The "Spanish flu", 1918–1920. First identified early in March 1918 in U.S. troops training at Camp Funston, Kansas. By October 1918, it had spread to become a worldwide pandemic on all continents, and eventually infected about one-third of the world's population (or ≈500 million persons). Unusually deadly and virulent, it persisted in pandemic form for at least two years before settling into more endemic patterns. Within six months, some 50million people were dead; some estimates put the total number of fatalities worldwide at over twice that number. About 17million died in India, 675,000 in the United States, and 200,000 in the United Kingdom. The virus that caused Spanish flu was also implicated as a cause of encephalitis lethargica in children. The virus was recently reconstructed by scientists at the CDC studying remains preserved by the Alaskan permafrost. The 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus has a small but crucial structure that is similar to the Spanish flu. The "Asian flu", 1957–58. An H2N2 virus was first identified in China in late February 1957 but not recognized globally until after an outbreak in Hong Kong in April. From there, it spread throughout Southeast Asia and the greater continent during the spring and throughout the Southern Hemisphere during the middle months of the year, causing extensive outbreaks. By the end of September, nearly the entire inhabited world had been infected or at least seeded with the virus. The Northern Hemisphere experienced widespread outbreaks during the