Space Weather and Pandemic Warnings

Medical science is not accustomed to turning to the skies for warnings of pandemics although this is precisely what our distant ancestors throughout history were prone to do. The Sun clearly plays an important role in all aspects of our lives. For instance, there have been many claims that the occurrence of pandemic influenza and other viral outbreaks is correlated with the well-known 11-year sunspot cycle 1–3 although the precise mechanism for such a causative connection had remained unclear.