Smallpox and its Vaccination

Development of the Smallpox Vaccine

In early Europe, smallpox was one of the most fear diseases and left it’s survivors with pox scars.  However, it was during this time that Edward Jenner developed and introduced the smallpox vaccination that later helped to eradicate smallpox from the world (Smallpox inoculation, 2003).

In previous years, inoculation, or variolation, was used to try and prevent the spread of smallpox.  Variolation is the practice of infecting a healthy individual with smallpox under controlled circumstances.  This practice meant that individuals would contract a mild form of smallpox after which they would become immune to the disease.  Edward Jenner wished to challenge this idea with a safer, but still effective, method of immunization (Smallpox inoculation, 2003).

Jenner found that a small group of people, dairymaids, could not contract smallpox due to their exposure to cowpox.  This milder disease acted as immunization for smallpox.  Jenner tested this hypothesis by infecting a health boy with cowpox taken from a dairymaid; the only effect the boy felt was a slight fever.  Six weeks after the boy was inoculated with cowpox, Jenner inoculated the boy with smallpox which did not have any effect on the boy.  Thus the vaccination for smallpox was born!  This new method of vaccination eliminated any risk of death that variolation had.  Individuals did not have to get sick with smallpox anymore to be immune to smallpox; rather they could be exposed to a less harmful disease that would still offer immunity (Smallpox inoculation, 2003).

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The Spread of the Vaccination

Jenner published his findings of this new vaccine in the book, Inquiry into the Cause and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae. In three years, 1798-1801, the book had been published in eight different languages and the original already had three different editions.  Many countries then vaccinated their citizens.  An iconic example is Frances vaccination of 1.7 million people between the years 1808-1811.  However, there were tricks to transporting the disease; for many reasons there was no way to transport the live virus without transportation through an infected individual.  It was by infecting one individual who was then able to travel a little way and infect another individual that scientists could transport the disease.  So while Jenner had been able to discover the vaccination, there were still some things that needed to be figured out in order to really use the vaccination to it’s best ability (Smallpox, 2003).

It was as the spread of the vaccination continued and as deaths from smallpox decreased that Jenner realized the ability that the vaccination might have to eliminate smallpox from the world.  While it was really developed countries that were able to gain access to smallpox vaccines, it wasn’t until the 1950’s that technology was advanced enough to provide vaccinations to those in tropical and isolated areas of the world (Smallpox, 2003).  In 1980 the World Health Organization declared that due to immunizations, smallpox was eradicated from the world (“World Health Organization”, 1998).  The Center for Disease Control has stated that the possibility of an outbreak is slim and would most likely be from a deliberate act (“What You Should Know”, 2009).  The CDC also has provided information about where the only remaining smallpox virus is and the plan that they have formed in the unlikely case of a new epidemic.  Today, children learn of smallpox in schools but fortunately do not need to learn about smallpox from personal experience.

Sources

Edward Jenner vs. Smallpox. (2013, July 23). Stuff of Genius. Video retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKwobvzrMIY.

Smallpox. (2003). In The Cambridge historical dictionary of disease. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.butler.edu/login?qurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreference.com%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fcupdisease%2Fsmallpox%2F0

Smallpox inoculation. (2003). In Science in the enlightenment: An encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.butler.edu/login?qurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreference.com%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fabcscienl%2Fsmallpox_inoculation%2F0

What You Should Know About a Smallpox Outbreak. (2009, March 13). CDC Smallpox. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/basics/outbreak.asp

World Health Organization declares smallpox eradicated. (1998). PBS. Retrieved April 14, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/en