Few vaccines were available to protect Allied troops sent overseas during WW2.
After West Africa, where he likely caught malaria, my father was posted to the Middle East where he encountered lice-borne typhus and then rabies, just two of a long list of deadly diseases in the region.
Eminent virologist, Professor Geoffrey Smith, helped me understand what protection – or lack of it – was available to those serving at the time.
Episode photo: A roadside sign warning troops in Italy against typhus.
Click here for a PDF with supporting material
Diary entries read by grandson Phil.
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