Supernatural S04E04

Dr. Airy's curiosity is piqued when he catches a news story about multiple children dying of bacterial pneumonia despite quality care at a University of Massachusetts hospital. With his background, he remembers that, while pneumonia is a leading cause of death in children, it is a secondary condition that develops due to bacteria or viruses, which should be treatable. While it could be a medical anomaly, he convinces the other Hunters to research the area and the situation and see if it is worth going cross-country.

While Airy searches the web on the current cases, Scott looks into historical similarities in Fitchburg, Ciaran looks for other cases in the local area, and Jon looks for new shows for Aine to watch in the car since House is now in its final season. What Airy finds has. a lot of details left out for child and patient protection, but all of the current cases are indeed from the same hospital, UMass Family Medical Center, involving five deaths in the last month or so. Scott finds some references to cases in the old paper mills and other factories in town, but the most concrete is an investigation into the old children's library when it opened in 1899 - there was a clear "outbreak" of cases in the 1899-1900 winter season that provoked checking the library for health and safety, but finding nothing. Ciaran finds that nearby areas have similar blips in pneumonia cases going back at least 100 years, but specifics are tricky because they could blend into the sheer amount of childhood illnesses in the past.