1918 Flu and COVID-19: What Can We Learn From The Past, Jan 27 webinar

Announcement written by Tomoko Y. Steen, PhD. and Ashley Cuffia, MLS, MS, Science Reference Section, ST&B Division.

The Library’s Health Services and Science, Technology & Business Divisions will be hosting the virtual panel discussion “1918 Flu and COVID-19: What Can We Learn from the Past?” on Wednesday, January 27th at 10 a.m. EST.  The event is open to Library employees and the public. Registration is required and limited to 1,000 participants.

Preparing anti-toxin for “flu” sufferers. Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress. //loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3c19259/

According to scientists, the 1918 flu first appeared in the United States at Camp Funston army base in Kansas. Due to the pandemic breaking out during WWI, information about its spread was strictly controlled by the government, not only in the U.S., but also in many other countries involved in WWI.  Spain, which stood as a neutral country during the war, openly reported the progress of outbreaks, and for this reason, the 1918 flu was referred to as the  “Spanish flu.”  There were a total of four separate waves of this flu that spread throughout the world. From February 1918 to April 1920, over 500 million people were infected across the globe, or one third of the World’s population, and an estimated 20-50 million people died.

The strain which caused this influenza pandemic was the H1N1 influenza A virus. Identifying the source of the microbes, or being able to identify if it was caused by virus or bacteria was hard in 1918 due to the limited technology that was available.  Panelist Dr. Jeffrey Taubenberger and his team at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) were the first to identify and sequence these strains. Panelist Professor Marc Lipsitch from Harvard Medical School also led an investigation to determine the infectious mechanisms of the 1918 flu. Unlike many other pandemics, including COVID-19, the 1918 flu mostly impacted the young, healthy working populations in the 18-35 age range.

By thoroughly studying our past pandemics, we will be able to organize public health measures, create treatment plans, and develop vaccines to combat and curb the current pandemic and those that could occur in the future. Public participation in this effort is crucial. For this reason, the Health Services Office and the Science, Technology & Business Division at the Library of Congress have invited these experts to discuss what we can learn from the 1918 flu and other influenza outbreaks to aid in managing the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Resources

Library of Congress

• “The Great Influenza”- Library Resources on the 1918-1919 Pandemic
• Influenza Epidemic of 1918 (Spanish Flu): Topics in Chronicling America
• “This malignancy, it was right at our very doors.” Using Manuscripts to Study the Influenza Pandemic of 1918
• Rampaging Invisible Killer Stalks the Entire Country! – Influenza Pandemic of 1918 in the United States
• Stories from the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic from Ethnographic Collections
• The Talking Machine Industry and the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• COVID-19
• History of 1918 Flu Pandemic
• Influenza (Flu)

Food and Drug Administration

• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
• COVID-19 Vaccines
• Seasonal Flu (Influenza) and the FDA

National Institutes of Health

• All About the Flu and How to Prevent It
• COVID-19
• COVID-19 Clinical Research
• Dynasty: Influenza Virus in 1918 and Today
• Vaccine Research Center

World Health Organization

• Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic
• Influenza (Seasonal)

During this session there will be limited time for questions. Attendees are encouraged to submit questions for the panelists in advance using the Ask a Librarian: Science & Technical Reports service. When submitting a question, please indicate that it is for the January 27th webinar.

Registration is required.

Individuals requiring accommodations for any of these events are requested to submit a request at least five business days in advance by contacting (202) 707-6362 or [email protected].