From 1943 until her retirement in 1971, Dr. Margaret Pittman worked to assess the efficacy of and establish national and international standards for the production of the cholera vaccine.

There was an epidemic of cholera in Thailand in May 1958, and the World Health Organization, and Philippine and American officials sent vaccines and other aid to Thailand. The King and Queen of Thailand, Their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit, were invited to attend the dedication ceremony of NIH Building 29, the newly built home of the Divisions of Biologics Standards (DBS), in June 1960 because of his majesty’s active role in the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) Cholera Research Project. The SEATO Cholera Research Project formed in the wake of the epidemic.

Dr. Pittman was active with SEATO and traveled to the cholera research laboratory in Dacca, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). For five years she was the SEATO Cholera Research Project director at the NIH. Pittman helped design the laboratory, the equipment, and the research that would take place at SEATO. With Pittman leading the team their findings demonstrated that the effectiveness of a cholera vaccination directly relates to its potency assay. This research project also verified the importance of IV restorative fluids in treatment procedures for victims of cholera. Today SEATO has been replaced by the International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh.

The 1980s and 1990s brought increased research and understanding of the complexity of the cholera bacteria, leading to many more vaccines around the world. Trials around the world expanded knowledge on the theory of herd immunity or herd protection. Vaxchora is the vaccine currently in use, a single-dose vaccine taken before traveling to at-risk areas.