The smallpox vaccine was the first successful vaccine to be developed. The process of vaccination was first publicised by Edward Jenner in 1796, who acted upon his observation that milkmaids who caught the cowpox virus did not catch smallpox. Prior to widespread vaccination, mortality rates in individuals with smallpox were high—up to 35% in some cases.
Read more about Smallpox Vaccine: Pre-vaccination History, Early Vaccination, Eradication, Post-eradication Vaccination, HIV Protection, Vaccine Stockpiles
Famous quotes containing the word smallpox:
“Most of the trouble in this world has been caused by folks who can’t mind their own business, because they have no business of their own to mind, any more than a smallpox virus has.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)