that a sign that this was a new influenza? >> this was devastating even to young people. so quantitatively, who it affected, was really extraordinary and unprecedented. this was something very special. it occurred in a way that crept up on us. >> you called the 1918 pandemic the mother of all pandemics. >> global impact it had was unprecedented in recognizable history. it was a pandemic that gripped the planet. it was truly an enormously devastating pandemic. >> in 1918, the cdc didn't exist. there were no requirements for doctors to report flu outbreaks to any officials. by the end of march, the cases in kansas were so unusual, a local doctor decided to report what he called an influenza of severe type to the u.s. public health service. the virus quickly spread.