F.F. Russell

Frederick F. Russell
Frederick F. Russell
Born	17 August 1870 Auburn, New York
Died	December 29, 1960
Nationality	United States
Fields	medicine
Alma mater	Columbia University
Known for	Developing typhoid vaccination program in U.S. Army
Notable awards	Public Welfare Medal (1935) Buchanan Medal (1937)

Brigadier General Frederick Fuller Russell (1870, Auburn, New York, USA – December 29, 1960) was a U.S. Army physician who perfected a typhoid vaccine in 1909. In 1911, a typhoid vaccination program was carried out to have the entire U.S. Army immunized. As a direct result of his research, the U.S. Army was the first military to make vaccination a required prophylaxis against typhoid. The 1911 measure eliminated typhoid as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among U.S. military personnel.

After graduating from Cornell University in 1891, Russell received his Doctor of Medicine from Columbia University in 1893 and his Doctor of Science from George Washington University in 1917. In 1898, he was commissioned as first lieutenant in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army.

It was during his time as a Medical Corps officer that he began his research into the inoculation of soldiers against typhoid. In 1908, Surgeon General O'Reilly sent Russell to England to observe the work of Sir Almroth Wright, Professor at the Royal Army Medical College, who had been experimenting with a method of prophylaxis with killed culture of typhoid organisms to immunize against the disease. Upon Russell's return, he submitted a report on Wright's research, which O'Reilly considered "a very valuable treatise on the epidemiology of this disease". He conducted trials at the Army Medical Museum comparing the efficacy of both an orally administered and an injected vaccine. He packed the vaccine in small single dosage using small glass ampoules which, unlike the 1 liter flasks used in the United Kingdom, ensured that all of the typhoid micro-organisms were killed.