Case study: smallpox, 18th century Flashcards
What is smallpox?
A disease which led to severe pain, chills, vomiting and blisters (on and beneath the skin) and which killed by shutting down the immune system.
When were there smallpox outbreaks in the UK?
1722, 1723, 1740-2 and 1837-40 (the worst one yet, where 35,000 died).
Who was Lady Mary Montagu and what did she do?
She had visited the Ottoman empire and discovered inoculation/variolation, a form of immunisation where dried bits of diseased scabs were blown into someone’s nose, and the person then contracted a mild form of the disease. She introduced this to Europe, where 1-2% of those variolated against smallpox died of the disease, compared to 30% of those who contracted it naturally.
Lady Mary Montagu introduced inoculation to Europe, where _-_% of those inoculated against smallpox died of the disease, compared to __% of those who contracted it naturally.
1-2%, 30%.
Who introduced inoculation to Europe?
Lady Mary Montagu.
Why was inoculation so important when it was introduced?
There was no other way to treat infectious diseases which were likely to kill people. Although inoculation was not completely safe (for example, it killed George III’s son), it was better than the alternative.
Who was Thomas Dimsdale?
He was a popular and successful inoculator in the 1700s.
Who was a popular and successful inoculator in the 1700s?
Thomas Dimsdale.
Inoculation was not without risk. Give one example of someone who was against the practice.
Joseph Lister, for example, blamed inoculation for the 1937-40 smallpox epidemic in his medical journal “The Lancet”.
Who was Edward Jenner and what did he discover?
He was a physician in Gloucestershire who theorised that there must have been a link between the dairy maids who he treated for cowpox, and the fact that they didn’t catch smallpox during outbreaks of the disease. He infected James Phipps with cowpox in 1796, and attempted to give him smallpox six weeks later. The boy did not catch it; this was the first ever vaccination.
How was the reaction to Jenner’s smallpox vaccination?
People at first reacted with suspicion and fear; the uneducated feared it would turn them into cows. Religious leaders said it was against God’s will and inoculators feared it would put them out of business.
How did the government react to Jenner’s smallpox vaccination?
The government was a massive supporter as vaccination was cheaper and safer than inoculation. People had to be quarantined after inoculation, but not after vaccination.
The government was a massive supporter of vaccination as it was was cheaper and safer than inoculation. Give 4 examples of actions the government took to make vaccination the common practice.
1) Inoculation was made a crime in 1840. 2) Later that year, the government agreed to provide children with vaccinations. 3) The smallpox vaccination was made compulsory in 1852. 4) Public vaccinators were appointed in 1871.
What was the importance of Edward Jenner’s discovery of the first vaccine in 1796?
By 1800, 100,000 people worldwide had been vaccinated.
