The Lister Institute Serum Department in Wartime, 1914-1918

The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine pioneered the production of antitoxins in the UK. In its first two decades, the Institute's Serum Department had increased output of diphtheria antitoxin, developed novel serum products, and expanded its facilities. The expertise gained in peacetime was essential but not sufficient to prepare for unprecedented military demand for tetanus antitoxin, anti-dysentery and anti-meningococcic sera in the First World War. Records of serum production provide a detailed insight into the means by which the Serum Department adapted its practices in changing circumstances to ensure the continued supply of safe and effective serum products during the war.