The Epidemic Of Smallpox Vaccine - 943 Words

In the 21th century we live our lives day to day seeing the next medicine breakthrough. It is easy for us to assume that’s how the history of medicine has always been. On the contrary, medicine became positively modern in the 19th century, new inventions were introduced, new discoveries were brought to their attention, remedies was in the spotlight, and the start of women’s professions generated. Vaccines are the most successful strategies in medicine to prevent and even eliminate the most gruesome and contagious diseases. For centuries, smallpox traumatized the human race. Today, smallpox is not something we automatically think of when somebody gets a rash or have the chills, thanks to Edward Jenner. The first successful smallpox vaccine was introduced by Jenner in 1796. Although, Jenner’s portrayed the first scientific attempt to control this deadly disease, later in the 19th century it was perceived that the vaccination did not grant immunity for the rest a vi ctim s life. As the 19th century came to an end, the smallpox vaccine became more advanced and more depended on. Scientist Louis Pasteur amazed the French Academy of Medicine when he prevented two boys from contracting rabies. Once a person was to get rabies, the symptom was death. A 15-year-old, Jean-Baptiste, was bitten several times while conflicting with a rabid dog. Three days following to the dog attack, Pasteur and his colleagues injected Jean 13 times over 10 days with rabid rabbits’ nerve tissue that hadShow MoreRelatedThe Epidemic Of Smallpox And Vaccines1327 Words   |  6 PagesWhen a vaccine is given, the human body produces antibodies against the foreign substance, thus creating a defense mechanism for immunity to occur. A vaccine is defined as â€Å"any preparation used as a preventive inoculation to confer immunity against a specific disease, usually employing an innocuous form of the disease agent, as killed or weakened bacteria or viruses, to stimulate ant ibody production† (dictionary.com). The epidemic of smallpox is one of the most groundbreaking moments in medical historyRead MoreThe Epidemic Of Smallpox And Vaccines1327 Words   |  6 PagesWhen a vaccine is given, the human body produces antibodies against the foreign substance, thus creating a defense mechanism for immunity to occur. A vaccine is defined as â€Å"any preparation used as a preventive inoculation to confer immunity against a specific disease, usually employing an innocuous form of the disease agent, as killed or weakened bacteria or viruses, to stimulate antibody production† (dictionary.com). The epidemic of smallpox is one of the most groundbreaking moments in medical historyRead MoreThe Epidemic Of The Smallpox Vaccine1085 Words   |  5 Pageseliminated in a region. (Carter n.d.) Only one infectious disease to date, smallpox, has been categorized as eradicated worldwide (CDC 2010). How did this eradication occur? From 1958 to 1965 all fifty stat es enacted legislation mandating school age children receive the smallpox vaccine (College of Philadelphia). Consequently, by 1971, no smallpox cases had been reported in the United States for 20 years. The last known smallpox case in the world was in Somalia in 1977 (CDC 2010). Even though smallRead MoreThe Wonders of Smallpox1437 Words   |  6 PagesThe Wonders of Smallpox There are several epidemics in the world, but the one that stands out the most and has a large affect on people is smallpox. An epidemic is a widespread occurrence of and infectious disease in a community at a particular time. There are several epidemics and lots of them are very dangerous and can lead to very severe sickness or even death. For example there are more diseases that land in the epidemic â€Å"family† such as HIV, AIDS, Herpes, and Gonorrhea just to give you an ideaRead More Vaccination: A Necessary Precaution Essay1100 Words   |  5 Pagesimmunization is one of the most significant advances in scientific history that has led to the prevention of countless diseases and epidemics throughout the world. Still, despite the overall improvement of public health, the usage of vaccinations remains a controversial concern that is constantly challenged. Vaccination critics argue that the serious side effects associated with vaccines have been underreported, underfunde d, and rarely researched. This, however, is false. Vaccinations are a necessary partRead MoreThe Importance Of Compulsory Vaccination836 Words   |  4 Pages11 (1905)). This case was Jacobson v. Massachusetts. During this time period, there was a recurring threat of a smallpox epidemic (Mariner, Annas, Glantz 2005). In order to prevent the spread of the disease, the state of Massachusetts enacted a statute that granted city boards of health the power to require vaccinations to be administered to all adults and children due to the smallpox surge in Cambridge (Mariner et al. 2005). However, Henning Jacobson refused the vaccination for himself and hisRead MoreDuring the twentieth century, more than 300 million deaths worldwide were due to smallpox, however,1300 Words   |  6 Pages During the twentieth century, more than 300 million deaths worldwide were due to smallpox, however, in 1980 after a global collaboration led by the World Health Organization, the first infectious disease to be eradicated was smallpox. On the other hand, during the 20th century tuberculosis which was once thought to have been declining in developed countries, is now according to WHO (2013) second only to HIV/AIDS as the greatest killer worldwide. This disease has been estimated by The World HealthRead More Vaccination: A Necessary Precaution Essay1525 Words   |  7 Pagesimmunization is one of the most significant advances in scientific history that has led to the prevention of countless diseases and epidemics throughout the world. Still, despite the overall improvement of public health, the usage of vaccinations remains a controversial concern that is constantly challenged. Vaccination critics argue that the serious side effects associated with vaccines have been underreported, u nderfunded, and rarely researched. This, however, is false. Vaccinations are a necessary partRead MoreVaccination : Is It Worth A Shot? Essay1395 Words   |  6 Pagesillnesses to spread from one person to another. Vaccines are inactivated or attenuated viruses that helps the body develop a strong immunity against detrimental diseases. It helps strengthens the population’s health and prevent them from having illnesses. Despite these advantageous benefits of vaccination, there is still an immense and great ongoing debate as to whether vaccinations should be optional or mandatory. Although others believe that vaccines should not be non-obligatory, it is safer andRead MoreThe History of Smallpox and How It Became Eradicated Essay1543 Words   |  7 PagesSmallpox is an ancient and very deadly disease. Scientists think that smallpox first started around 10,000 B.C. in Africa. They also think that it spread from Africa to India by Egyptian merchants. Scientists have studied th e mummy of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses V., who died in 1156 B.C., and they think that he had smallpox. Smallpox was also known to be in China in 1122 B.C. There are also writings from India around that same time that mention smallpox. Smallpox is the only disease to ever be eradicated