A presentation on the 1918 Spanish flu by Dr. Federico Justiniani. The conference will describe the origin of the 1918 influenza pandemic at the end of World War I, with special attention on its effects in Cuba, including mortality rates and the measures taken by the so-called hygienists to prevent the dissemination of the disease, at a time when the agent causing the disease was unknown.
Dr. Justiniani will then compare what happened in 1918 with the Covid-19 pandemic, a century later, again with special attention on its effects in Cuba. Emphasis will be made on the similarities of the preventive measures, though now, one century later, technology has made significant advances, including isolation of the virus causing the disease, diagnostics test, vaccines, antibiotics and antiviral drugs.
The presentation will be followed by a Q&A via Zoom, moderated by Ricardo Gil, director of our History Program.
This event is part of our CreateNYC Language Access Series on Cuban History, Art, and Literature. It will be held in Spanish and will be streamed through our YouTube channel.
TO ATTEND, CLICK HERE ON THE SCHEDULED DATE AND TIME:
https://youtu.be/w5nbWGxJg6Y
To participate in the Q&A via Zoom, click here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89526024766
[Pictured above: Boys wear bags of camphor around their necks around the time of the 1918-19 Spanish flu–an old-wives method of flu prevention. (Bettmann Arhive/Getty Images)]
Federico R. Justiniani was born in Havana in 1929. After graduating with honors from the University of Havana, he completed
a residency in internal medicine at the General Calixto García University Hospital, and had his own practice until leaving for exile in the United States in 1964. He did a second residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, where he became board certified. He practiced at that institution from 1969 until his retirement in 2010, serving as Director of Medical Education for more than 25 years, and also teaching at the School of Medicine at the University of Miami, attaining a full professorship in 1990. Dr. Justiniani has published in scientific journals in the U.S. and abroad, has been guest lecturer at numerous institutions in Latin America, and has been the recipient of multiple awards and honors for excellence in teaching, including the distinction of Master from the American College of Physicians.
This event is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
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