1918 Influenza on Delmarva: Documentaries

In September of 1918, soldiers at an army base near Boston suddenly began to die. The cause of death was identified as influenza, but it was unlike any strain ever seen. As the killer virus spread across the country, hospitals overfilled, death carts roamed the streets and helpless city officials dug mass graves. It was the worst epidemic in American history, killing over 600,000 — until it disappeared as mysteriously as it had begun.

A documentary that explores the experiences of Americans during the influenza pandemic of 1918. The documentary features stories from survivors of the influenza pandemic that swept the United States in 1918, information about seasonal versus pandemic influenza, symptoms, immunizations, treatment, and research.

Professor John Oxford examines how the last global pandemic, the 1918 Influenza, affected every corner of the world. Professor Oxford looks through the archives and traces its emergence and spread through every continent. We hear real and dramatized testimony from people who lived through it in countries like South Africa, Britain, France, Germany, America and New Zealand.