Smallpox vaccine
- Period
- 1796
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- Inventions map
The smallpox vaccine is used to prevent smallpox infection caused by the variola virus. It is the first vaccine to have been developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with the relatively mild cowpox virus conferred immunity against the deadly smallpox disease. Cowpox served as a natural vaccine until the modern smallpox vaccine emerged in the 20th century. From 1958 to 1977, the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a global vaccination campaign that eradicated smallpox, making it the only human disease to be eradicated. Although routine smallpox vaccination is no longer performed on the general public, the vaccine is still being produced for research, and to guard against bioterrorism and biological warfare.
Sources: Wikipedia — Smallpox vaccine · CC BY-SA 4.0
Earlier and later events nearby
- 1776Watt steam engine
- 1789Storming of the Bastille
- 1789–1799French Revolution
- 1796Smallpox vaccineThis page
- 1796Jenner's smallpox vaccine
- 1803–1815Napoleonic Wars
- 1815Battle of Waterloo
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