In 1918, the worst epidemic in United States history occurred and forced medical researchers to doubt all of their previous advances in medicine. Doctors were able to determine that it was some strand of influenza, but deadlier and spreading quicker than any virus they had ever seen before. This disease was later incorrectly labeled the Spanish Influenza and continued to puzzle doctors and researchers for close to the rest of the century. The “Closing in on a Killer: Scientists Unlock Clues to the Spanish Influenza Virus” exhibit at the National Museum of Health and Medicine provides an interesting presentation on the spread of the influenza, how doctors researched it then and now, and Dr. Jeffrey Taubenberger’s successful recreation of its genetic structure in 1996.
The goal of this exhibit is to inform the¬ public about the Spanish Influenza of 1918 that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and educate them on the importance of Dr. Taubenberger’s research. The exhibit …show more content…
However, I wish it had went more in depth about how Dr. Taubenberger’s research provided the answers to so many of the previous doctors’ questions. The exhibit provides enough information to prove that it was major breakthrough for medical science, but fails to fully convey what his research was actually trying to solve. Even with this lack of information, the exhibit sill provided me with a better perspective on the deadliness of the influenza. I found that the exhibit was mainly information and data-based so it remains free from any bias or generalizations. This exhibit supplied me with much stronger details on the outbreak than any other time I have previously studied the Spanish Influenza. In return, I now have a better understanding of how devastating the outbreak was and why doctors of that time were so puzzled by the quickness and deadliness of
The goal of this exhibit is to inform the¬ public about the Spanish Influenza of 1918 that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and educate them on the importance of Dr. Taubenberger’s research. The exhibit …show more content…
However, I wish it had went more in depth about how Dr. Taubenberger’s research provided the answers to so many of the previous doctors’ questions. The exhibit provides enough information to prove that it was major breakthrough for medical science, but fails to fully convey what his research was actually trying to solve. Even with this lack of information, the exhibit sill provided me with a better perspective on the deadliness of the influenza. I found that the exhibit was mainly information and data-based so it remains free from any bias or generalizations. This exhibit supplied me with much stronger details on the outbreak than any other time I have previously studied the Spanish Influenza. In return, I now have a better understanding of how devastating the outbreak was and why doctors of that time were so puzzled by the quickness and deadliness of