Spit Spreads Death Parade: over four hundred people walked to honour the thousands who died in Philadelphia’s 1918-19 flu outbreak.

This September, Spit Spreads Death: The Parade marked the first public commemoration to the 1918-19 flu pandemic anywhere in the United States. Thank you so much to everyone who took part.

Those who walked in the parade made visible the crushing loss that swept through Philadelphia on one day: October 12th 1918. And in doing so gave a glimpse into the scale of the losses in the city overall, and in Pennsylvania, the United States and the rest of the world, during a year when one third of the World’s inhabitants caught a most virulent strain of flu. We honoured those people who have often been overlooked. The parade was an amazing experience for us and we are incredibly grateful for all the fantastic responses, feedback and press coverage.

The film of the parade is now open as part of the Mütter Museum’s five-year long exhibit ‘Spit Spreads Death’. Read more about the exhibition here.

Take a look at some of the parade images below taken by photographer Tivern Turnbull and see more by searching #spitspreadsdeath on our social channels Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The film of the parade will be available to see as part of Mütter Museum’s five-year exhibit ‘Spit Spreads Death’. Read more about the exhibition here.