Edward Jenner and the Discovery of Vaccines
Edward Jenner (1749-1823) trained in London, under John Hunter, and
was an army surgeon for a period of time. After that, he spent his
whole career as a country doctor in his home county, Gloucestershire
(West of England). His research was based on careful case studies and
clinical observation more than a hundred years before scientists could
explain what viruses and diseases actually were. His innovative new
method was successful to such an extent that by 1840 the British
government had banned alternative preventive treatments against
smallpox.
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His invention of vaccination against smallpox was the medical
breakthrough that saved the most lives, before antibiotics came into
mass use. Before Jenner's vaccine, smallpox was a killer disease; the
majority of its victims were infants and young children. In the
twentieth century alone it killed more than 300 million -
approximately three times the number of deaths from all of that
century's wars and battles combined.
The last reported case of smallpox occurred in Somalia. There, on
October 26, 1977, a youth named Ali Maow Maalin recovered from a rash
caused by smallpox. He was entitled the last case of natural smallpox
in the world. In 1980, thanks to Jenner's discovery, the World Health
Assembly officially declared "the world and its peoples" free from
endemic smallpox.
When Jenner began medical practice at Berkeley (in Gloucestershire) he
was asked a lot, to inoculate persons against smallpox. Inoculation
was not a common practice in the English countryside until around 1768
when Robert Sutton (of Debenham, Suffolk) i...
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...any - it was his
gift to the world.
The word vaccination comes from the Latin 'vacca' which means cow - in
honour of the part played by the cow Blossom and Sarah in Jenner's
research. "Vaccination," the word Jenner invented for his treatment,
was adopted by Pasteur for immunization against any disease.
We now know that one way to create a vaccine is to use an organism
which is similar to the virulent organism but that does not cause
serious disease, such as Jenner did with his use of the relatively
mild cowpox virus to protect against the similar, but often lethal,
smallpox virus. A more modern example of this type of vaccine is the
BCG vaccine used to protect against Tuberculosis.
Strangely enough, Jenner invented vaccination before physicians and
scientists had a proper understanding of viruses and disease.
My siblings and I have never received any vaccinations because my parents opted out of them. Up until second grade, I thought it was rare for people to get shots. I didn’t realize that vaccines were required to go to school and that I was in the minority. Now that I know this, I am meeting more people that aren’t vaccinated. For example, my next door neighbors have five children who aren’t vaccinated, and they homeschool. Similarly, my second cousins, have five children that homeschool and have not been vaccinated. This made me wonder if maybe not vaccinating a child fits into a view of life that includes homeschool and large families. Lastly, my sisters and I all had the Chickenpox when we were younger so I think we are immune to getting them again. I am curious whether beating the disease is better than just getting the vaccine.
one would do anything to avoid this potentially deadly disease, but the most favorable option, a vaccine, is not available. This blemish to our society should be corrected as a precautionary measure, which would ultimately enhance life in the future.
In the United States there was a vicious enemy everyone feared. In the 1950s the United States was under attack by the ruthless Poliomyelitis virus. Americans lived in constant fear of their children contracting this horrible virus that left many children paralyzed. During the outbreaks in the 1950s foundations were created to fund research and create awareness to help find a way to eradicate the virus. Americans become focused on doing anything in their power to fight this virus off. Jonas Salk’s Exploration of Medicine and research led to the creation of the Polio vaccine that united the country, prevented further outbreaks, and introduced a new form of treatment which has limited the fatality of polio infections today.
Vaccine safety is one of the most controversial topics in today’s public discourse. Everyone has heard of them, but few know why they are so encouraged. A vaccine contains a weak or dead version of a microbe. This creates a small scale invasion of the immune system, which activates cells to destroy the microbe. Once these cells have been made they are always there to provide protection. This protection is immunity, for those cells are then able to recognize any live version of the same microbe and attack it immediately. This can save lives but also be dangerous, vaccines carry many other components which can cause side effects. These could be simple adverse effects such as a small cold or, in the rare case,
The 1950s were a decade in American history that was filled with many of successes. Everybody was excited and relieved now that the war was finally over and that their loved ones were safely home with their families. Families in the 1950s were very conservative and always had the perfect family image, until the “teenagers” came along. Teens were not the most likable people in society, because they listened to crazy, tasteless music and were known as rebels. The crazy, tasteless music changed music forever. Since the 50s were right after WWII, many foreign policies emerged, some provided assistance to countries that were in need. The U.S. was also dealing with and epidemic for years, until the early 50s when a vaccine was created which also changed the way vaccinations were given to the public. The 1950’s were the most influential decade towards contemporary America because, throughout this decade not only did we discover vaccinations that saved hundreds of live, but we also had the rise of Rock N’ Roll which changed music forever including a foreign policy which helped rebuild economies in Europe called the Marshall Plan.
... much advancement in medicine has been created to improve life. The most common today is the cure for certain viruses. By simply taking a shot containing a vaccine, that took extensive amount of research and self-intuition, one can dramatically reduce their chance of the virus affecting them later on.
Getting vaccinated dates back as far as people can remember. In an article called “Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination” by Stefan Riedel, he states that during the era of 430 BC smallpox had made its big debut and everyone knew that whomever had smallpox became immune to the disease once they got over the sickness. Before they found a vaccination that could cure smallpox, they would just do the best to inoculate it. Edward Jenner was the one who found a vaccination for smallpox. According to Riedel, Jenner found a dairymaid who had cowpox on her body and use some of those lesions and inoculated a little boy. After about a week the little boy just felt some discomfort and a loss of appetite. Later on that year, Jenner incolulsted
Vaccines have been used to prevent diseases for centuries, and have saved countless lives of children and adults. The smallpox vaccine was invented as early as 1796, and since then the use of vaccines has continued to protect us from countless life threatening diseases such as polio, measles, and pertussis. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) assures that vaccines are extensively tested by scientist to make sure they are effective and safe, and must receive the approval of the Food and Drug Administration before being used. “Perhaps the greatest success story in public health is the reduction of infectious diseases due to the use of vaccines” (CDC, 2010). Routine immunization has eliminated smallpox from the globe and led to the near removal of wild polio virus. Vaccines have reduced some preventable infectious diseases to an all-time low, and now few people experience the devastating effects of measles, pertussis, and other illnesses.
The history of vaccinations does not begin with the first vaccination itself but rather an infectious disease that had greatly affected the human population. In 1796 Edward Jenner created a successful composition using cowpox material that created immunity to the ongoing growth of the small pox disease. Jenner’s method underwent 200 years of medical and technological changes until it had finally resulted in complete elimination of the smallpox disease. Vaccinations have been a controversial medical topic for many years and although it is proven to be an effective means of preventing serious effects, including fatalities from childhood illnesses the controversy remains that the side effects from the immunizations outweigh the risk of contracting the disease. According to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia they state that “innovative techniques now drive vaccine research, with recombinant DNA technology and new delivery techniques leading scientist in new directions. Disease targets have expanded, and some vaccine research is beginning to focus on non-infectious conditions, such as addictions and allergies” (“The History of Vaccines” College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Web. 10 January. 2014). While public health officials insist that vaccines are the best way to protect public health. Over the past thirty years the vaccination schedule has tripled and since then there has been an alarming rise in the infant mortality rate in America. The problem is not the vaccination itself, but the quality of the vaccination.
This idea came from Edwards milkmaid Sarah Nelmes and James Phipps, a 9 year-old son of Edwards gardener. Edward injected the cowpox virus into James. James was now infected with cowpox (cowpox Ian not deadly ) After this he injected the smallpox virus into James. James showed no signs of the smallpox disease, this made the worlds first vaccine , the smallpox
Vaccines are an integral part of modern preventive medicine. Without vaccines, not only would most malignant epidemics still be around, and the world would also be in a much more polluted era. The streets would be littered with diseased, there would have to be mass graves for the dead, and the healthy would have to be quarantined inside a sterile environment.
Jenner’s method proved to be revolutionary. Once a person had been exposed to smallpox, their body would begin to produce antibodies capable of fighting the disease, helping them survive if they ever were to contract real smallpox. Jenner’s new method was genius, and created the model for the modern day vaccination. Arm-to-arm inoculation has eradicated diseases such as smallpox, polio and many others. Despite this,
High level of difficulty in generating a vaccine that can activate CD4+ T cells. .
When children are born and for the first two years of their lives, they receive multiple shots and drops of vaccines. These vaccines protect them from getting diseases that were deadly and common in children many decades ago. Vaccine is one of the greatest achievement in medicine history. There were thousands of lives lost in the battle with some of the terrifying diseases like smallpox and polio. Now, after years of vaccine invention, vaccination spread in many countries which helped in eradicate several illnesses. In the United States, each family is required to show their children's immunization chart in order to get accepted in many educational institutes. Parents usually face the decision whether to vaccinate their children or not when their children are first born. Knowing how vaccines are made and their mechanism to prevent diseases as well as, the process they go through to be approved for public use, can help parents in making the choice for vaccinating their children.
Vaccines are also manufactured by using biotechnology in which consist of three main ways, it aids scientists to separate pure antigen using specific monoclonal antibody, aids in synthesis of an antigen with the help of a cloned gene and lastly it also aids in the synthesis of peptides to be used as vaccines (Alam 2014). A vaccine can protect you from specific diseases that can make you very sick or even kill you.