Modern➡️c.1800AD-Today Flashcards
How did Edward Jenner discover and develop the smallpox vaccine?
Jenner observed that milkmaids didn’t catch smallpox if they’d had a milder disease called cowpox.
He gave an 8 year-old boy cowpox, then smallpox to test this theory. He experimented on 23 other cases before declaring that his vaccination immunised against smallpox.
What was the smallpox situation like before Jenner’s vaccination was found?
- 30% fatality rate, those who survived had scars which left people outcasts.
- In the 18th century, China developed a method known as inoculation.
- Inoculation became popular in Britain and people made lots of money from the technique.
Why were people opposed to Jenner’s vaccination?
- Attack on liberty➡️When the government made vaccination compulsory in 1853, people felt they were being forced and had lost their freedom.
- Country doctor➡️Jenner wasn’t respected as he was only a country doctor.
- Inoculators➡️They made a lot of money from inoculation so did not want to lose business.
- Fear of the unknown➡️No one could explain why the vaccine worked as there was no knowledge of germs.
- Religious reasons➡️Some people didn’t want treatment from one of God’s ‘lowly’ creatures, others thought smallpox was sent from God as a punishment.
- Dangerous➡️Cowpox samples often became contaminated with smallpox, and some people were given smallpox instead of cowpox (so died).
Who was Florence Nightingale?
Florence Nightingale was born in 1820 from a wealthy family. She desired to be a nurse, claiming it was a calling from God. She was also inspired by Elizabeth Blackwell, the first US doctor.
What did Florence Nightingale do?
- Nightingale was appointed by the government to lead a team of nurses in the Scutari hospital (during the Crimean war).
- She was outraged by the conditions in Scutari, but her attempts to improve them were resisted by the army until Nightingale spoke to John Delaney at the Times.
- Nightingale improved sanitation, with clean bandages/towels and regulated the conduct of nurses.
- As a result, death rates fell from 42% to 2% within 6 months.
What did Florence Nightingale do after the Crimea?
- Nightingale was hailed as a heroine, and the Nightingale Fund was set up with £44,000.
- She met Queen Victoria, and set up the Nightingale School.
- In 1907 Nightingale recieved an Order of Merit.
Who was Mary Seacole?
Mary Seacole was born in Jamaica and gained medical knowedge from her mother. She travelled to the Caribbean treating cholera outbreaks.
What did Mary Seacole do?
- Applied to go to the Crimea twice but refused, so she funded her own trip to visit Scutari.
- Seacole set up the ‘British Hotel’, which was a shop near the battlefield and she treated people on both sides.
What did Mary Seacole do after the Crimea?
- Seacole returned bankrupt and wrote a book about her exploits, ‘Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole’.
- Awarded the Legion d’Honneur in 1904.
- Named ‘Greatest Black Briton’ in a 2004 poll.
What ideas were there about causes of disease at the start of the 19th century?
- God, Devil & Witches.
- Astrology.
- Declining belief in Four Humours as there was more in miasmas.
What ideas were there about germs before Pasteur?
In the 1600s a microscope was invented by Antony van Leeuwenhoek which showed small organisms.
Antony called these animacules, and proposed the theory of “spontaneous generation”.
How was the first ‘magic bullet’ found?
- Paul Ehrlich (trained with Koch) tested 600+ dyes over 4 years to see if dye could kill germs.
- Dr. Hata joined Ehrlich’s team in 1909 and retested the dyes, and found no. 606 worked.
- 1910; Salvarson 606 for syphilis.
How was penicillin discovered?
- First discovered by Joseph Lister in 1871 but not developed.
- Fleming, after working as an army doctor in WW1, researched staphylococci in 1928.
- He was amazed to find penicillin could be injected or applied to kill infection, and published articles on his findings 1929-31.
How was finding magic bullets made easier?
In 1932 a new microscope was invented, which helped researchers to identify the active ingredient in the dyes, sulphonamide.
Why did the UK government fund Florey & Chain to research antibiotics at Oxford?
In 1939 the government funded them because it was WW2, and the UK was losing. The magic bullets weren’t useful, they needed antibiotics.
How did Pasteur investigate germs?
Swan neck flask experiment➡️U-turn trapped microbes so broth remains sterile, breaking off swan neck allows microbes in so broth spoils.
This proved that germs caused decay.
