The Horizon Guide to Pandemic
Virologist Mike Leahy uses 50 years of BBC archive to explore the history of pandemics - infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites - from smallpox to swine flu.
In the wake of the swine flu outbreak, virologist Dr Mike Leahy uses over 50 years of BBC archive to explore the history of pandemics - infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites.
Inspired by the Horizon back catalogue, he tells the extraordinary story of smallpox, one of the most violent killers in history, as well as the success of mass vaccination and the global politics of malaria. Through the lens of television the programme charts our scientific progress from the early steps in understanding AIDS to the code-cracking of SARS and deadly predictions of bird flu.
Each pandemic episode tells us something about the world and our place within it. In his journey through the ages Dr Leahy charts science's ongoing battle with nature and questions which one is winning.
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Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
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00:00Keoki
Pass It On
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Mike Leahy |
| Producer | Louise Bourner |
| Director | Louise Bourner |
| Executive Producer | Andrew Cohen |
Broadcasts
- Sun 9 Aug 2009 22:00
- Mon 10 Aug 2009 02:35
- Fri 14 Aug 2009 01:30
- Mon 4 Jun 2012 21:00
- Tue 5 Jun 2012 01:55
- Wed 23 Oct 2013 00:30
- Wed 26 Feb 2014 20:00
- Thu 25 Feb 2016 22:55
- Wed 8 Apr 2020 22:00
- Thu 9 Apr 2020 02:30