Small Pox & Vaccinations Flashcards
What did people use before vaccinations?
Innoculation
What was inoculation?
Scratching pus from a wound (eg. Small pox victim) and rubbing it against themselves so they can build up artificial immunity
Who was the doctor that discovered vaccinations?
Edward Jenner
How did Edward Jenner discover vaccinations?
He heard that milkmaids who had caught cow pox never got smallpox
He tested this by infecting a young boy with cow pox and then giving him small pox- he survived
He repeated this experiment 23 times- each time he got the same result
How did he publish his results?
He tried to publish them through the RSM but they were rejected- so he published them independently
Why did the RSM reject Edward Jenner’s findings and why did others ridicule his findings?
Although he knew that vaccinations worked, he didnt understand why
What happened once Jenner published his findings?
They were read by many important people and the government gave him £30,000 to open a vaccination clinic
When were vaccinations made compulsory?
1853
What was the effect if compulsory small pox vaccinations?
The disease declined rapidly and no longer exists anymore
