Daily Republican., 1883-02-10
VACCINATION.
ITS DISCOvERY BY DR. JRNNER-
THE ONLY KNOWN PREVENT.
ATlVE OF YENALL-POX.

III man race are subject are not AltOgeth
hopeless, however distant may be T.
period in which their severely may
~ abated. Years ago, while the SMALL D,
'io was Staying its tens Of thousands, the
existed the means Of rendering it inn
,et cuors, and it remained for a youngph
Die sician to discover and put it in practir
Vaccination is the greatest triumph ey,
in yet obtained over disease, and the worl
,c- owes an everlasting debt Of gratitude I
DIR. Edward Jenner, who at the time
nj making the discovery, was an unpr,
"a tending medical practitioner, living i
~ comparative retirement at the villag
OF Berkeley, in Gloucestershire.
ne When but a young man he commend
es ed the study Of medicine with DR.. Lud
low, a surgeon who resided near Bristo
II and 1t was in his Office that he frs
d conceived the idea that smallpox coul,
be rendered innocuous.
y young country woman employee
~ a. in dairy ~ a mixer incidentally re
marked in his presence that she had n,
fear of the smallpox, as she had one,
:, had the cOw-pOx. This remark was tn,
approximate cause of Jenner devotinl
J. himself 10 the study Of the nature 0
the latter disease, and for years he
II prosecuted his inquiries, until he became
G fully satisfied that if some means could
= be devised to communicate the cow-pox
to human beings, the dreaded small,
{ pox wohld be comparatively harm.
q less.
incubation had been introduced into
England from Turkey in 1921, but had
never become universal, because, though
in many cases the disease appeared in
a milder form, yet its fatality was not
abated to so great an extent rs had been
hoped, and the rate Of mortality before
incubation was known, and after it
was praCtised, did not differ SO ma
terially as TO offer sufficient induce
ment to voluntarily encounter the dis
ease.
| The cow-pox, to which Jenner's atten-
tion had been directed by the words
of the milkmaid, is disease which
makes its appearance on the animals =
uddcr, from which the mixers take the
Infection.
Jcnner found upon investigation that
similar vesicles made their appearance
on the body of the person contracting
the disease, and slight fever ensued,
but after few days these symptoms
disappeared, and that, with but small
disarrangelnent Of the general health,
the patient was rendered comparatively
free from contracting smallpox.
The young physician endeavored to
interest other medical men in the sub
ject, and was 40 persistent in urging the
matter, whenever opportunity offered.
that a medical society before which he
frequently read original papers, inter-
dicted the subject as a forbidden topic,
and his proposal to introduce the virus
from diseased animal into the human
system by artificial means, was an in
nOvation which met with no considera- |
ton, except ridicule and prejudice,
from his professional brethren.
NOman but Jenner ever thought Of
applying the virus to Il reproduced for
this purpose on the human body, in or
der that it might enter the system He
pursued his studies step by step for II
quarter Ofa century, and gave the sub
ject his best attention
ty-tivc years study, he vaccinatcd II
boy in the arm with virus, obtained
from II pnstule on the hand of II young
NbHllIl " no lilht1l tIt tOW-pON
from one of her masters cows
The disease made its appearance, and
the symptoms were aS mild and favor
able as could have been desired Seven
weeks attcrward the boy was inoculatrd
with the smallpox, hut although the
experiment was repeated, the boy did
not take the disease, and .Jcnner knew
his triumph wa, complete.
The after progress Of vaccination was
rapid, and three years after .Jcnner's
experiment ON the boy, Scvcnty-thrce of
the most eminent physicians in London I
signed IA declaration, which was made
public, in testimony of its safety and I
efficiency.
Accurate observation has shown that
of three hundred persons, where the
was complete, not more
than one took the smallpox and then
only in a safe and mild form; but Of 5
three hundred persons inoculatcd, a Il
portion will surely die. With this pre-
vention available to all, it seems crimi- t
nal that anyone should neglect to fortify j
themselves against the disease. t
In this connection the following valu- I
able paper, read by Dr. Draper before the t
i''dlt vi ilttllIl vi CNtIllIlE, | y
will be found interesting and instruc-
tive: =
"In consideration Of the fact that =
smallpox has again appeared in our ?
1!ty, and with Il view to prevent II fur
her extension among our citizens, this y
Board deems it proper to address them Il
in reference to the best and only means "
by which they may be- perfectly pro- il
ected from the most loathsomc and Il
fatal disease, to wit: BY satisfactory II
vaccination. :
"Thc Board wishes to be understood II
hat all attempts at vaccination and
'cvaccination are not protective. Two Il
years ago great many persons, after 81
applying the vaccine points, found II r.
small red pimple upon thrirarms which I
hey unfortunately considered sufficient la
% protect them from smallpox, while OF
indeed 1t was a mere local effect without CO
my protective power. Such persons GO
hould be vaccinatcd again from the e,
'ovine crust, or fresh, pure, hulnanized "a
'irus. e.
"The Board wishes in the most posi- of
i've manner to assure our citizens that
'accinatiUn when effective, that is when .lll
/ penctratrs the human system, is a &c
'crtcct guard against smallpox; and to
hat the notion that if practiccd when pa
he smallpox is in city or neighbor da
oOd renders the individual more suS-
cptiblc to the disease is fatally false of
nd must have originated in profound Il"
gnorance. Many lives have been LOST he
nd much suffering produced by the be- of
ef of this fatal delusion. The truth is, tn
nat the only safety 10 an individual ha
'ho has been exposed 10 the smallpox sh
either in the fact thar he has already an
ad the disease or has been well vacci- ri
ated, or that he Immediately has re-. tic
,rted to vaccination which penetratcs TIN
is system. pr
"rhe Board has no hesitation in say rcs
X that all the suffering, expense and Go
cath which occurred Two years ago in ST;
lis city, and the dealt hS which have re- pre-