Glass ampoules, 3, of cholera vaccine, by Laboratoire de Vaccination Antityphoidique de l'Armee, French, c. 1924

The vaccine was used to protect people against cholera. Cholera is a water-borne disease affecting the small intestine, causing diarrhoea and vomiting. The name of the Laboratoire de Vaccination Antityphoïdique de l’Armée, which made this vaccine, translates as the “Army Laboratory for Anti-Typhoid Vaccination”. Cholera, like typhoid, was a threat to soldiers who drank polluted water. Prevention of disease aimed to ensure that soldiers were at peak physical condition to fight.