Spreading knowledge

AUBURN - There are fewer and fewer people who know the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic ever happened, let alone the deadly impact the virus had until it was eradicated.

The Cayuga Museum of History and Art will explore infectious disease and public health with the “Sick of It” exhibit opening Friday night. The exhibit will show how the past plays into fresh pandemic fears of the avian flu and the public debate over mandated vaccinations to prevent cancer causing human papillomavirus.

“It's timely not only from a historical standpoint, but as a contemporary issue as well,” museum curator Carrie Barrett said.