Edward Jenner (17 May 1749-26 January 1823) was an English physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines including creating the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine.
The terms vaccine and vaccination are derived from Variolae vaccinae, smallpox of the cow, the term devised by Jenner to denote cowpox. He used it in 1798 in the long title of his Inquiry into the Variolae vaccinae known as the Cow Pox, in which he described the protective effect of cowpox against smallpox.
In the West, Jenner is often called the father of immunology, and his work is said to have saved more lives than the work of any other human. In Jenner's time, smallpox killed around 10% of the population, with the number as high as 20% in towns and cities where infection spread more easily.
In 1821, he was appointed physician extraordinary to King George IV, and was also made mayor of Berkeley and justice of the peace. A member of the Royal Society, in the field of zoology he was the first person to describe the brood parasitism of the cuckoo.
In 2002, Jenner was named in the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest Britons.
In 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox an eradicated disease. This was the result of coordinated public health efforts, but vaccination was an essential component. Although the disease was declared eradicated, some pus samples still remain in laboratories in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta in the US, and in State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia.
More information: US National Library of Medicine
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by one of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor.
The agent of variola virus (VARV) belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) certified the global eradication of the disease in 1980. The risk of death after contracting the disease was about 30%, with higher rates among babies. Often those who survived had extensive scarring of their skin, and some were left blind.
The initial symptoms of the disease included fever and vomiting. This was followed by formation of ulcers in the mouth and a skin rash. Over a number of days the skin rash turned into characteristic fluid-filled blisters with a dent in the centre. The bumps then scabbed over and fell off, leaving scars. The disease was spread between people or via contaminated objects. Prevention was achieved mainly through the smallpox vaccine. Once the disease had developed, certain antiviral medication may have helped.
The origin of smallpox is unknown; however, the earliest evidence of the disease dates to the 3rd century BCE in Egyptian mummies. The disease historically occurred in outbreaks.
In 18th-century Europe, it is estimated that 400,000 people died from the disease per year, and that one-third of all cases of blindness were due to smallpox.
Smallpox is estimated to have killed up to 300 million people in the 20th century and around 500 million people in the last 100 years of its existence, including six monarchs. As recently as 1967, 15 million cases occurred a year.
Inoculation for smallpox appears to have started in China around the 1500s. Europe adopted this practice from Asia in the first half of the 18th century.
In 1796 Edward Jenner introduced the modern smallpox vaccine.
In 1967, the WHO intensified efforts to eliminate the disease. Smallpox is one of two infectious diseases to have been eradicated, the other being rinderpest in 2011. The term smallpox was first used in Britain in the early 16th century to distinguish the disease from syphilis, which was then known as the great pox. Other historical names for the disease include pox, speckled monster, and red plague.
More information: Centers for Disease, Control and Prevention
cowpox in human beings will spread over the world
-when that day comes, there will be no more smallpox.
Edward Jenner
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