For thousands of years, tiny invaders have been attacking humans—and killing them by the millions. Who—or rather what—are these nearly invisible killers? They are deadly germs that have caused some of the world’s worst epidemics, including massive outbreaks of influenza, smallpox, and typhoid fever. In Nightmare Plagues, children become medical detectives as they discover how these deadly diseases began. First-person accounts and dramatic photos bring to life the different ways in which these devastating illnesses spread throughout the world—and the heroic efforts of doctors who rushed to find a cure. Most importantly, children learn how to avoid catching one of these killer diseases in the first place!