The idea of vaccinations to prevent disease dates back to 1796. In that year Edward Jenner, a British physician, noted that dairymaids who had caught cowpox (a minor disease), could not catch smallpox (an often fatal disease in humans).
Jenner took infected matter from the hand of Sarah Nelmes, a local dairymaid who had become infected with cowpox, and inserted this ooze into the cut arm of James Phipps, a healthy eight-year-old boy. The boy then caught cowpox.
Forty-eight days later Jenner injected smallpox matter into the boy. Miraculously, it had no effect. This was the first recorded vaccination.
The term "vaccine" is a reference to the origin of vaccination. "Vacca" is the Latin word for cow.
The term "vaccination" is now generalized to refer to any germ, disease, or injection given to people to prevent a more serious disease from striking the individual.
A few key dates in the history of vaccination:
- 1798 Smallpox
- 1885 Rabies
- 1897 Plague
- 1923 Diphtheria
- 1926 Pertussis
- 1927 Tuberculosis (BCG)
- 1927 Tetanus
- 1935 Yellow Fever
- 1950-1962 Distemper vaccine created and improved upon
- 1955 Injectable Polio Vaccine (IPV)
- 1962 Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV)
- 1964 Measles
- 1967 Mumps
- 1970 Rubella
- 1978 - Parvovirus vaccine for dogs using feline panleukopenia vaccine, later improved on with dedicated canine vaccine.
- 1981 Hepatitis B
Ironically, one way distemper got into the kennels was through dog shows, where judges and spectators would transmit the virus from one dog to another as they moved through the show petting puppies and adult dogs alike.
- Related Posts
** Distemper Vaccine Ad 1965
** Over-vaccination is Bad Medicine
** Foxes, Ferrets, Hounds and the Distemper Vaccine
** Canine Influenza Vaccines are the Latest Scam
** The Epidemiology of Rabies in the U.S.
** The Population Dynamics of Distemper in Wildlife
** Groundhogs Saving Humans & Chimps
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