Exhibition launch of Poxed: Germs in History

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh is launching its new exhibition, Poxed: Germs in History, on Thursday 29 October. The launch evening runs from 6pm to 8pm at the College, No.11 Queen Street, and it's the first chance to see the show before it opens to the general public the following day.

Poxed is built around books, illustrations and objects from the College's own collections, and it traces the shifting relationship between humanity and microorganisms: from fear, superstition and magic spells to scientific discovery and vaccines. The exhibition is structured around four themes. The first looks at how people coped with the constant threat of epidemics in times of ignorance; the second covers early medical theories of infection; the third follows the fear and stigma that trailed sick and infected people through history; and the fourth charts the history of therapies and the development of vaccines.

The launch evening brings in two speakers to set the scene. Professor Christos Lynteris will talk about the history of infectious diseases, and Dr Janet Scott will cover modern infectious diseases, so you'll get the long view of the subject from both ends of the timeline. It's a good way to get your bearings before you walk through the exhibition yourself.

Tickets for the launch are £10, and the evening opens the show, which then runs from 30 October 2026 to 9 July 2027. The exhibition requires advance booking, so if you want to go back and spend more time with it after the launch, you'll need to book your slot in advance. The launch itself is on Thursday 29 October, 6pm to 8pm, at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, No.11 Queen Street, EH2 1JQ.