3.3.1
Vaccination & Edward Jenner
Vaccination and the Spread of Disease
Vaccination and the Spread of Disease
Until the late 1700s, diseases spread easily and people did not know many ways to stop their spread. Edward Jenner was born in 1749 and he is famous for his role in vaccinating people against smallpox.
Smallpox
Smallpox
- In the 1700s, smallpox was one of the most fatal diseases in the world.
- Smallpox was very contagious (spread through coughing, sneezing or physical contact) and its symptoms were a fever, headache, rash and blisters filled with pus.
- 30% of people who got smallpox died. Those who survived were often blind or had very deep scars.
Inoculation
Inoculation
- The existing way to treat smallpox was inoculation. It was first brought to Britain by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu who observed it in Turkey.
- Inoculation involved putting pus from a person with a mild form of smallpox into a cut in a healthy person’s body. People believed this gave them resistance.
- Inoculation was popular in the 1700s with aristocrats.
Problems with inoculation
Problems with inoculation
- Many people did not get inoculated for religious reasons. They thought that it interfered with God’s will.
- The inoculation dose could be too big and kill the patient.
- People who had been inoculated could still pass smallpox onto other people.
- Inoculation was a treatment that only rich people could afford.
The Work of Edward Jenner - Vaccination
The Work of Edward Jenner - Vaccination
Edward Jenner was a country doctor. He thought that the milkmaid did not get smallpox but did catch a milder disease called cowpox. He tested this theory scientifically and it seemed to be correct.
Testing his theory
Testing his theory
- Jenner thought that people who had cowpox were immune to smallpox.
- Jenner gave an 8 year old boy, James Phipps, cowpox before injecting him with smallpox. James Phipps didn’t catch smallpox.
- Jenner tested this on 16 more patients and concluded that cowpox was an effective vaccination against smallpox.
- He published his research in 1798.
Religious opposition
Religious opposition
- Some people in the Church thought that vaccination wasn’t natural and should not be done.
- The level of opposition is seen by the formation of the Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League in 1866.
- This was 13 years after the vaccination was made compulsory.
Incentives and lack of understanding
Incentives and lack of understanding
- Publishing his discovery in 1798, Jenner faced serious opposition.
- He faced criticism because he could not explain why the vaccination worked.
- Many doctors did not wish to use the vaccination because they profited (made money) from the smallpox inoculation.
- Jenner was not part of the clique of fashionable doctors in London. For this reason, he was excluded from academic favour.
Poor application of vaccination
Poor application of vaccination
- Attempts to replicate the experiment failed.
- Although this was because of contaminated equipment, they believed Jenner was wrong.
Role of government
Role of government
- Despite all this opposition, the vaccination came to be accepted.
- The vaccination was less dangerous than the traditional smallpox inoculation.
- Gaining the favour of the royal family helped sway popular opinion.
- Parliament gave Jenner £10,000 to further his research in 1802.
- By 1853, the vaccination was made compulsory under law.
1Medicine in Medieval England
1.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness
1.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
2The Medical Renaissance in England
2.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness
2.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
3Medicine in 18th & 19th Century Britain
3.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness
3.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
4Medicine in Modern Britain
4.1Modern Understanding of Disease
4.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
5Treatment in WW1
6Themes in Medicine
7Some Extra Context (Not Compulsory for Exam)
7.1Medieval Medicine
Jump to other topics
1Medicine in Medieval England
1.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness
1.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
2The Medical Renaissance in England
2.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness
2.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
3Medicine in 18th & 19th Century Britain
3.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness
3.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
4Medicine in Modern Britain
4.1Modern Understanding of Disease
4.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
5Treatment in WW1
6Themes in Medicine
7Some Extra Context (Not Compulsory for Exam)
7.1Medieval Medicine
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