Edward Jenner

• • first method used to treat smallpox was inoculation
  • inoculation was putting low dose of disease into body to help fight against disease if contracted
  • inoculation was dangerous
  • if the dose of smallpox was too strong, smallpox could be developed and die
• • Jenner observed that milkmaids that caught cowpox would not catch smallpox
  • he tested whether cowpox would prevent smallpox:
  • took healthy eight year old called James Phipps
  • took cowpox from milkmaid and inserted it into Phipps' through two cuts
  • Phipps became ill but became well again
  • Phipps inoculated with smallpox but did not get smallpox
• • Jenner repeated his experiment 23 times
  • in 1798, he published book on how to prevent people catching smallpox by injecting them with cowpox
  • he called his method vaccination
  • vacca = cow in Latin
• • there was opposition to the vaccine:
  • many doctors made money from inoculation and did not want to lose income
  • Church did not like idea of using disease from cows in human medicine
  • Royal Society refused to publish Jenner's work due to opposition
• • the use of smallpox vaccine led to fall in deaths
  • in 1852, government made vaccine compulsory
  • after 1872, vaccine was enforced strictly
  • people fined for not having children vaccinated
  • result of government intervention was rapid fall in deaths from smallpox
  • in 1980, small pox eradicated