Didcot Cafe Scientifique, David Miles, Influenza: From the Spanish lady to the winter sniffle
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Didcot Cafe Scientifique, Tuesday 21st July 2026
7.30pm, Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
Influenza: from the Spanish lady to the winter sniffle
In 1918, an influenza pandemic killed more people than the First World War. The disease was called the Spanish Lady, among many other names, because nobody had more than a vague idea of what caused it. The Spanish Lady’s descendants are still with us, causing the annual ‘winter flu’ that empties workplaces, filling hospitals and stuffing noses.
Now we know the influenza virus down to the most intimate molecular detail but we’re still locked into an ongoing tussle with it. Science, medicine and our own immune systems can limit the damage it does but every year, influenza is involved in thousands of deaths across Britain.
The story of the influenza virus circulating today is intertwined with the story of how science came to know it and to develop the vaccines that mitigate but remain unable to eradicate it. Both stories are still being written.
David Miles
David Miles is an infectious disease immunologist who spent ten years researching immunity to infections and the vaccinations that protect against them in various parts of Africa. He now lives in London and teaches on the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s online postgraduate course. His first popular science book, How Vaccines Work, was published in March 2023 and his second, Sneeze: The History and Science of the Common Cold, will be published in March 2026.
Website: https://www.variolator.com/
Twitter: @Variolator
Bluesky: @variolator.bsky.social
7.30pm, Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
Influenza: from the Spanish lady to the winter sniffle
In 1918, an influenza pandemic killed more people than the First World War. The disease was called the Spanish Lady, among many other names, because nobody had more than a vague idea of what caused it. The Spanish Lady’s descendants are still with us, causing the annual ‘winter flu’ that empties workplaces, filling hospitals and stuffing noses.
Now we know the influenza virus down to the most intimate molecular detail but we’re still locked into an ongoing tussle with it. Science, medicine and our own immune systems can limit the damage it does but every year, influenza is involved in thousands of deaths across Britain.
The story of the influenza virus circulating today is intertwined with the story of how science came to know it and to develop the vaccines that mitigate but remain unable to eradicate it. Both stories are still being written.
David Miles
David Miles is an infectious disease immunologist who spent ten years researching immunity to infections and the vaccinations that protect against them in various parts of Africa. He now lives in London and teaches on the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s online postgraduate course. His first popular science book, How Vaccines Work, was published in March 2023 and his second, Sneeze: The History and Science of the Common Cold, will be published in March 2026.
Website: https://www.variolator.com/
Twitter: @Variolator
Bluesky: @variolator.bsky.social
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Where is it happening?
Cornerstone Arts Centre, 25 Station Road,Didcot, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherDidcot First
