The Oxford Martin School is a research and policy unit based at the University of Oxford; an institution that needs no introduction.
Over the last few years, the university has been instrumental in the development of a new ‘typhoid conjugate’ vaccine. Unlike previous versions, this vaccine can be taken by children and could help some of the world’s most vulnerable people in the fight against typhoid; a disease caused by poor sanitation.
However, the link between Oxford and typhoid goes much further back. In the 1800s, the bacterial infection blighted the population of the city until Henry Liddell reformed the sanitation system.
Dr Samantha Vanderslott of the Oxford Vaccine Group and Dr Claas Kirchhelle of the Oxford Martin School wanted to create an exhibition that explored this history, as well as showing how typhoid continues to affect people worldwide and defy its reputation as a ‘disease of the past’.
