008 - Inoculation with Typhoid Vaccine as a Preventive of Typhoid Fever

Ah, finally the turn of the (20th) century. In this study, the author attempts to test the effectiveness of an anti-typhoid fever vaccine. The subjects were nurses in the typhoid ward at a hospital in Manchester. Fourteen of the 22 subjects received the vaccine, four others refused it, and four had already had typhoid.

Apparently it was a pretty nasty treatment: those that received the vaccine got a day off from work to recover from the headache, general pains, nausea, and vomiting that accompanied vaccination.

Before the intervention, there were about 3-8 cases of typhoid among the nurses each year for almost 5 years, but in the year (or half-year, rather) since vaccination, none of the nurses had caught the disease.

It seems to me like the author should have waited a few more years before publishing anything, to get a good average. To be fair, the half-year post-vaccination period was during typhoid season. But there was no blinding or very effective control group. So I look forward to better studies.

Citation: Marsden, R. W. Inoculation with Typhoid Vaccine as a Preventive of Typhoid Fever. Br Med J 1, 1017–1018 (1900).