RALEIGH, N.C. -- A new Netflix series highlights doctors who say it's not a question of "if", but "when" the next pandemic will happen.
Although history shows us deadly outbreaks should be taken seriously, agencies globally, and right here in our state, say there are measures you can take now to stay healthy.
Netflix released a documentary in late January called "Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak."
The six-episode docuseries explores how dangerous outbreaks happen and how the flu in 1918, also known as the "Spanish Flu", caused by the H1N1 virus, killed millions of people.
"Because of WWI, it was a time of great upheaval in the world, " said Raelana Poteat, Curator of Political and Social History at the NC Museum of History. "There was lots of movement of people back and forth all across the place, so it spread quickly; it killed quickly. It killed far more people world-wide than the war actually did."
To put that in perspective, World War I claimed about 18 million lives. The 1918 influenza epidemic more than doubled that number at 50 million deaths, according to our state's epidemiologist.
The North Carolina Museum of History points out that while people knew about the spread of germs back then, it was all still a new concept.
"We have a poster we hang up in the exhibit with some of the common sense rules that we have now; wash your hands, don't stick your hands in your mouth all of the time," said Poteat.
The Netflix documentary explains how people around the world are banding together to fight viruses.
In North Carolina, emergency preparedness is on-going.
"We feel very privileged in the Triangle to have three major healthcare systems and we are all working strongly together to address any issues that may come up, " said Barb Bisset, Executive Director of Preparedness at WakeMed.
Health officials caution against the spread of not only of germs, but also false information, which can be harmful.
"In our world of emergency preparedness, one of our first rules are we need to know the source and we need to confirm the facts from that source," Bisset said.
