Skip to main content
NCDHHS logo NCDHHS

Topical Navigation

  • Home
  • Assistance
    Assistance
    • Aging And Adult Services
    • Children's Services
    • Deaf-Blind Services
    • Disability Services
    • Disaster Preparation And Recovery
    • Guardianship
    • Hearing Loss
    • Low-Income Services
    • Medicaid Transformation
    • Medicaid
    • Mental Health And Substance Abuse
    • NC Assistive Technology
    • Pregnancy Services
    • Vendor Resources
    • Veteran's Services
    • Vision Loss
    • Vital Records
  • Divisions
    Divisions
    • Aging and Adult Services
    • Child and Family Well-Being
    • Child Development And Early Education
    • Disability Determination Services
    • Health Benefits (NC Medicaid)
    • Health Service Regulation
    • Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse
    • Office of Economic Opportunity
    • Office Of Minority Health And Health Disparities
    • Office of Rural Health
    • Public Health
    • Services for the Blind
    • Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing
    • Social Services
    • State Operated Healthcare Facilities
    • Vocational Rehabilitation Services
  • Documents
  • Providers
    Providers
    • Licensure
    • Provider Info
    • LME-MCO Directory
    • Policies, Manuals and Forms
  • News
    News
    • Press Releases
    • Media Contacts
    • Events
    • Newsletter Articles
  • About
    About
    • Administrative Offices
    • DHHS Mission, Vision, Values and Goals
    • Department Initiatives
    • Grant Opportunities
    • Leadership
    • Overview
  • Contact
    Contact
    • Division Contacts
    • Hotlines
    • Report Fraud
  • NCDHHS COVID-19
  • NC.GOV
  • AGENCIES
  • JOBS
NCDHHS »   Home »   blog

Raleigh Museum Exhibit Commemorates 1918 North Carolina Flu Epidemic

Author: Scott Coleman

N.C. Public Health Communicable Disease Branch Head Evelyn Foust tours the exhibit with its designer, Research Educator Ed Longe at the exhibit’s official opening on Jan. 12

Jan. 24, 2018 — On Sept. 19, 1918, a virus that would come to be known as the Spanish Flu appeared in Wilmington after turning up earlier that month in Boston. Within a week, Wilmington reported 400 cases of the illness. The outbreak reached its peak in our state during the winter of 1918-19, when at least 20 percent of North Carolinians were infected.

The epidemic quickly outpaced the fledgling public health infrastructure that existed in North Carolina at the time. An estimated 200 men, women and children volunteered to assist in relief efforts. Many of these volunteers became infected, and some died. By the time the epidemic ended, the “Spanish Flu” claimed the lives of nearly 14,000 residents of the state and millions more across the planet.

DHHS’ Division of Public Health partnered with the City of Raleigh (COR) Museum to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1918 epidemic with an exhibit designed by COR Museum Research Educator Ed Longe that guides visitors through North Carolina’s experience and response to the epidemic and what science has learned about handling epidemics today and for the future.

“Mr. Longe did a great job of telling the story of this epidemic, incorporating so many interesting elements that remind us how important it is to be ready for the next pandemic,” said Public Health Communicable Disease Branch Head Evelyn Foust. “He even made a part of the exhibit resemble a disease map similar to what would have been used by epidemiologists of the time to track the spread of the epidemic.”

In addition to many illustrative visual elements, the exhibit also includes video segments featuring N.C. Public Health Epidemiologists Jennifer MacFarquhar, MPH, and Jean-Marie Maillard, MD, explaining the process used by Communicable Disease staff to investigate and prevent outbreaks.    

The 1918 flu epidemic left a permanent mark on North Carolina and the world. The lives lost in our state would prove to be a small sample of the worldwide loss in the wake of what would become one of the worst global pandemics mankind has ever witnessed, second only to The Plague of the 14th century. 

To give the 1918 flu epidemic some context, State Epidemiologist Zack Moore, MD, provided a comparison. “World War I claimed about 18 million lives. The influenza epidemic that swept across the world in 1918 claimed the lives of an estimated 50 million people,” Moore said. “One third of the world's population was infected with this virus. Within a few months, it had become one of the deadliest outbreaks in recorded history.” 

The exhibit, “Silent Killers: The Legacy of the 1918 Spanish Flu,” will be open through March 31 at the City of Raleigh Museum. 
 
For the latest information on seasonal flu activity in North Carolina, visit flu.nc.gov.

This blog is related to:

  • Newsletters

Related Articles

  • August is National Breastfeeding Month
  • NCDHHS Recognizes 23rd Anniversary of Olmstead, Spotlights Stories From Across North Carolina
  • NCDHHS Leader Shares Personal Journey and Celebrates Departmental Accomplishments at National Health and Human Services Summit
  • What Expanding Medicaid Would Mean for North Carolina
  • Join NCDSS for In-Person Event June 17 Celebrating Reunification and Foster Care Months
  • Collaboration Between Health Officials Leads to Better Understanding of Heartland Virus in North Carolina
  • Q&A with Debra Farrington: NCDHHS' Chief Health Equity Officer
  • Radon Measurement and Mitigation Scholarships Available for Minority Contractors
  • Dr. Zack Moore, All 85 Local Health Directors Honored with Levine Award for Contributions to Public Health
  • NCDHHS' Forensic Toxicology Laboratory Achieves National Re-Accreditation
  • May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month
  • NCDHHS Celebrates Older Americans Month
  • NCDHHS Staff Plants Pinwheel Garden to Recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month
  • NCDHHS to Offer Scholarships for Spanish Speaking Contractors to Become Nationally Certified in Radon Measurement and Mitigation
  • Employment First Internships

Share this page:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
Back to top

Contact Information

NC Department of Health and Human Services
2001 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-2000
Customer Service Center: 1-800-662-7030
For COVID-19 questions call 1-888-675-4567
Visit RelayNC for information about TTY services.

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @ncdhhs

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Translation Disclaimer
  • Employee Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Open Budget
https://www.ncdhhs.gov/blog/2018-01-25/raleigh-museum-exhibit-commemorates-1918-north-carolina-flu-epidemic