Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1881-03-17
SMALLPOX AND VACCINATION.
Is Cow-pox Capable OF Exterminating
Smallpox From the Earth7

Is Cow-pox Capable OF Exterminating
Smallpox From the Earth?
The following by A. X. Gardner, NJ
d., may well repay Il careful perusal:
In 1898, Jenner, physician Of
Berkeley, England, made the discovery
that certain persons engaged among
cattle were made sick from absorbing
in their hands, ulcerous matter from
the udders of cows, and as secondary
result, that they were exempt from the
smallpox. Acting upon this idea,
then prevalent among the common
people of that part of the country, he
made experiments and observations,
and announced it to the profession,
and, finally growing stronger in his
faith, in 1900 he claimed that the cow
pox was capable of eXtcrminating
smallpox from the earth.
The first vaccination in America
was in 1900, when Dr. Waterhouse,
of Cambridge, Mass, yaccinated his
own four children.
In 1910, inoculation was made illegal
in England, and any attempt. even to
produce smallpox, was punished as an
offence at law.
For many years, Jemer's belief that,
by the vaccination of the whole world,
smallpox would he entirely eradicatcd,
was the general opinion held by the
profession and the world. Gradually,
however, there crept into the minds Of
many a kind of Skepticism, and even
with some, an opposition to its general
practice. II became apparent that
there were some drawbacks and oh
irctiOms TO il, it was observed that
matter taken fresh from the COW was
very yirulent. and made the person
very sick, although rarely, if ever, pro
ducng death-although there were Oc-
casiOnal deaths from attendant aCc-
dents-Such as taking cold coincident
with the vaccination, and erysipelaS
attacking the inilamed portion. Some
times, too, careless or ignorant indi-
viduals, taking the vaccine lymph from
unhealthy persons, propagated other
eruptive diseases, and seriously vitiated
the systems Of those formerly in good
health. Sometimes. indeed, the sys-
TEN has been affected by foul diseases
of a type that has been supposed al
most impossible to entirely eradicate,
and that too, when the attending ply
Sicion has been an expert in skin dis
eases. These instances, however, have
been 50 rare aS TO very slightly affect
the general argument in favor of uni
vcrsal vaccination.
Latterly, however, the idea has arisen
that the benefits arising from vaccina.
ton are but temporary, and, therefore
that J1nner's faith that smallpox will
he entirely eradicatcd will not be real
iZed
At the present time We are prepared
to admit that the preventive effects OF
vaccine-poX are temporary; that its
benefits are, however, certain to this
extent, namely, that in the majority Of
persons there results from vaccination
an absolute protection against the dlS
ease for an uncertain period, say ac
cording to the individual constitution
and somewhat according to the Satlra
ton of the person with the cOw-pox
and that there is an absolute immunity
from the smallpox from seven to four
teen years; that, therefore, i'll every
epidemic, it is the part OF wisdom iol
every one to he rcvaccinatcd, in order
to see if they are still protected by the
vaccine III tneir SyStehlS' IL 50, 'lle vac, :,
cllaIl"ll VIII ilot 'aNc "sd'n IL llot' 1t
VIII lr"i.c' " NcSc,cl'' "'',' ll''' WIN ~, ~
Selllole INC oriH'Il' coM-loA So'o' '''e '
more accurately aS thr system IN IN iI'o't
or less recovered from lhc e'lec'S ol
the ilrSt NacciIla'loi
Ill theSe instances, toO' "ileie tne
Naccllla'eu iluiViuuai takes Vne us
ease upon iharkei exposure IL " 80
moderated tIiat IL Has liltle uanser, 'he
pustuIeS not helhs very deep ana mus
leaving Dut leW' II any plts' SioWinS %
that the ulcera'ioh Has gone 'hroug''
the true SKIN, 49,, II
AND mere IL Is wen 10 say l,lal aI'
that Is Sald anont prlcklhg each PuS'
tue at Il certain perloa IN llS ueVeloP'
meht, painting Wlth louiie' lroi'' col,
lodloh' ana eiyceIihe' Wl'i, the we" u, u,
preventing iilarh'ils' ~ all uselrss, "li,'
utterly lali III tLe result clalllieu
Charlatans out OIL the regular proieS'
son, ana h'imDugs III IT, MAKE Chains
to DO tnls' ana WITHOUT any au'hori'y
If the ulcerations are deep, there viii
be marking; if however. they are
superficial, there may he little or nC
| deformity. As the person has beer
= more or less recently vaccinated, th'
7 pits will be more or less deep, and thu
Y permanent marks more or less appa
+ rent. Some quacks have received
1 many hundreds of dollars for promis
2 ing not only life, but no injury to th'
| looks, in cases of chicken-poX- yer!
superficial and comparatively trivia
disease, resembling variola in its gen
eral characteristics.
e In very small proportion of case
. vaccination will not "take," and a Ger
!, tain proportion of this class seem t,
. have natural immunity against tn
h smallpox itself; others, however, ol
{ exposure to the real disease, are affected
!, | Wy IL hn 10 'i"""y'