THE ‘SPANISH’ FLU PANDEMIC OF 1918-19: HISTORICAL AND VIROLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

Emeritus Professor Howard Phillip, Professor Ed Rybicki, head, Biopharming Research Unit, Ziyaad Valley-Omar, Division of Medical Virology, UCT

In the midst of World War One the world was struck by the worst pandemic in modern history, the so-called ‘Spanish’ flu, which killed some 50 million people around the globe in under a year, i.e. 2–3% of the Earth’s population. This course of five lectures, given by one historian and two virologists, will examine the catastrophe through both an international and a South African lens, focusing on the pandemic’s origin, its transmission, its dire immediate effect and its long-term consequences. The last lecture will look at epidemic influenza outbreaks since 1918 up until today and consider whether another such influenza-driven disaster is in prospect.

LECTURE TITLES

1. The influenza virus

2. The Spanish flu pandemic: a global view

3. The Spanish flu in South Africa: arrival, spread, impact

4. The Spanish flu in South Africa: consequences

5. Epidemic influenza since 1918-19 and future prospects

Recommended reading

Phillips, H. 2018. In a Time of Plague: Memories of the Spanish flu epidemic in South Africa (Cape Town: VRS/HIPSA).

Rybicki, E. and Kightley, R. 2015. Influenza: Introduction to a Killer (Apple iBook Store)

World Health Organization (WHO), Global influenza programme

Global initiative on sharing all influenza data (GISAID)