Spit Spreads Death Opening Night

  • Thursday, October 17, 2019
  • 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM EST
Presented by: The Mütter Museum
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Fellows and Members are invited to exclusive after-hours access to the Mütter Museum’s new exhibition, Spit Spreads Death!

What happens when disease strikes a city of two million people, sickening half a million and killing more than 12,000 in just six weeks, and 20,000 in six months? What would YOU do? Learn from experts what happens when a deadly disease strikes a crowded city, explore how neighborhoods in Philadelphia were impacted, how the disease spread, and what could happen in future pandemics.

History:

A century ago, a worldwide health disaster hit home. The influenza pandemic of 1918–19, the global epidemic often called the “Spanish flu,” killed 50 to 100 million people worldwide.

Here in Philadelphia, the Liberty Loan Parade, a patriotic wartime effort on September 28, 1918, helped to spread the disease. Soon, the city was in crisis. Hospitals overflowed and bodies piled up in morgues. Philadelphia had the highest death rate of any major American city during the pandemic. More than 12,000 people died in six weeks; over 20,000 died in six months.

Location:

The Mütter Museum
19 South 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103