In the spring of 1918, the United States began mobilizing their military troops for involvement in the first World War. Little did they know, that a far more deadly opponent awaited them on the homefront: influenza. This digital project examines the impact of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic on North Carolina by presenting mortality statistics, contemporary research, and materials related to preventing and curing the disease.

Unfortunately, there is no large body of literature dedicated to the topic of influenza in North Carolina, so the information in this project is primarily made up of extracts. In many cases, only those pages specific to North Carolina and influenza were scanned, though in some cases the designers of the project sought to include pages that place North Carolina in a wider context.

The State Library wishes to extend special thanks to the staff at the Health Sciences Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for their generous assistance with providing materials for this project. Thanks also to the staff of the North Carolina Medical Journal for allowing the State Library to reprint an article from their journal.