In 1918, a parade in the middle of the Spanish Flu pandemic triggered a severe epidemic of influenza in Philadelphia. With the first confirmed case of coronavirus reported in Philadelphia, city government officials have decided to go ahead with the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
In 1918, two Canadian brothers serving in World War I sent letters back and forth with friends and family. Some of those letters have been preserved, telling the story of how one of them died from Spanish Influenza.
Mütter Museum Curator Anna Dhody sits with mortician and author Caitlin Doughty to discuss the 1918 influenza pandemic in Philadelphia ahead of our new exhibit Spit Spreads Death!
On September 28, 2019, residents of Philadelphia came together to remember a parade in 1918 that brought the influenza pandemic to the city, killing thousands.
The cost of the influenza pandemic of 1918 to one life insurance company was over $70 million in today’s dollars. A severe influenza pandemic today would cost billions in losses to the US.