Online Exhibit “Going Viral: Impact and Implications of the 1918 Flu Pandemic”

By Terri Ottosen February 13, 2018

Nursing wearing surgical mask to prevent influenza

Poster of Red Cross nurse with a gauze mask over her nose and mouth, published by the Illustrated Current (New Haven, Connecticut) in October 1918, the height of the influence pandemic.

Going Viral: Impact and Implications of the 1918 Flu Pandemic” is a new online exhibit from the University Libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). It explores one of the deadliest pandemics in human history.

The 1918 influenza pandemic killed more than 50 million people worldwide. The flu virus strain, H1N1 influenza A, killed young, healthy adults in addition to the very young, the very old, and people with existing health conditions. Victims tended to die from pneumonia as a secondary complication. The exhibit particularly highlights the impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic at UNC and throughout North Carolina.

This online exhibit was developed to coincide with the “Going Viral” interdisciplinary symposium (4-6 April 2018) hosted by UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC’s Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and RTI International.

Last modified: 05/08/18