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"Smallpox - history"
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House on fire
A story of courage and risk-taking, House on Fire tells how smallpox, a disease that killed, blinded, and scarred millions over centuries of human history, was completely eradicated in a spectacular triumph of medicine and public health. Part autobiography, part mystery, the story is told by a man who was one of the architects of a radical vaccination scheme that became a key strategy in ending the horrible disease when it was finally contained in India. In House on Fire, William H. Foege describes his own experiences in public health and details the remarkable program that involved people from countries around the world in pursuit of a single objective--eliminating smallpox forever. Rich with the details of everyday life, as well as a few adventures, House on Fire gives an intimate sense of what it is like to work on the ground in some of the world's most impoverished countries--and tells what it is like to contribute to programs that really do change the world.
eBook
House on fire : the fight to eradicate smallpox
\"A story of courage and risk-taking, House on Fire tells how smallpox, a disease that killed, blinded, and scarred millions over centuries of human history, was completely eradicated in a spectacular triumph of medicine and public health. Part autobiography, part mystery, the story is told by a man who was one of the architects of a radical vaccination scheme that became a key strategy in ending the horrible disease when it was finally contained in India. In House on Fire, William H. Foege describes his own experiences in public health and details the remarkable program that involved people from countries around the world in pursuit of a single objective: eliminating smallpox forever. Rich with the details of everyday life, as well as a few adventures, House on Fire gives an intimate sense of what it is like to work on the ground in some of the world's most impoverished countries -- and tells what it is like to contribute to programs that really do change the world\"--Dust jacket.
Book
An Early American Smallpox Vaccine Based on Horsepox
Global eradication of smallpox was driven by the development of the smallpox vaccine. In this report, light is shed on the origins of the vaccinia virus.
Journal Article
Historical analysis of the first smallpox vaccination campaigns in early 19-century northern Italy: organisation and communication insights for contemporary epidemics' prevention and control
In the annals of public health, smallpox is a watershed, being the first disease eradicated by vaccination. Drawing parallels to contemporary pandemic control measures, we examined the first smallpox vaccination campaigns in early 19th-century northern Italy and the seminal work of Luigi Sacco. Our study delves into this under-explored historical landscape to elucidate lessons that resonate with modern public health dilemmas.
We scrutinised primary sources from the Historical Civic Archive of Pavia, the State Archive of Pavia, and the State Archive of Milan. These archives provided exhaustive data on administrative decrees, local epidemiology, and university-health authority collaborations. Using period-specific keyword searches and expert consultations, we extensively reviewed correspondence, vaccination lists, and academic writings, including Luigi Sacco's seminal Trattato di vaccinazione. The epidemiological investigation focused on the pivotal period of 1816–1828 in Lombardy's 19th-century public health landscape.
Organisational reforms enacted in 1821 succeeded in doubling the number of vaccinations administered in Pavia, stabilising at elevated rates in subsequent years. Despite improvements, incongruities in epidemiological data and vaccinator remuneration persisted. Communication strategies pioneered by Sacco, encompassing academic and religious collaborations, demonstrated their efficacy. Epidemiological data revealed an initial surge in vaccination uptake in 1822, with a declining trend in the following years, notably impacted by logistical and data recording limitations.
Our research underscores three salient dimensions pertinent to contemporary public health paradigms: first, the vital function of local administrative bodies as efficacious service providers, immunisation register keepers, and social safety nets; second, the equilibrium between mandatory vaccination policies and discretionary enforcement as a pragmatic framework for public compliance; lastly, the irrefutable importance of credible communication strategies in fighting vaccine hesitancy. These insights are not merely historical curiosities but cardinal principles for effectively managing modern epidemics and infectious disease threats.
•Luigi Sacco was a pioneer in European smallpox vaccination in early 1800s Lombardy.•Historical analysis reveals similarities in vaccine campaign challenges then and now.•Local district organisation was the key to early widespread vaccine coverage.•Epidemiological data collection was a cornerstone for vaccination success.•Modern communication approaches and flexible mandates were crucial historically.
Journal Article
The fever of 1721 : the epidemic that revolutionized medicine and American politics
\"More than fifty years before the American Revolution, Boston was in revolt against the tyrannies of the Crown, Puritan authority, and auperstition. This is the story of a fateful year that prefigured the events of 1776, ... [examining] the smallpox epidemic of 1721 [that] was the catalyst for the invention of American journalism, the coming-of-age of Benjamin Franklin, and the beginning of American independence\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
The earliest report of smallpox oral vaccination by Bahā’ al-Dawlah Rāzī in the 16th century
Smallpox is one of the viral and contagious diseases that were always talked about and deadly epidemics that killed many people for many centuries. Through the analysis of historical and textual material, this paper seeks to investigate the smallpox eradication process. It starts with a brief history of smallpox before listing the common methods of eradicating the illness throughout the 16th century. There was a type of traditional oral smallpox vaccination, reported by Bahā’ al-Dawlah Rāzī, a Persian physician in his book, Khulāsāt al-Tajārib (The Summary of Experiences). This method could be considered the earliest remained report of practical solution to prevent smallpox; at least 3 centuries earlies than smallpox vaccination by Edward Jenner.
Journal Article
Epidemics and pandemics : real tales of deadly diseases
Tells the tale of five of history's most critical contagions and the havoc these diseases wreaked across the globe, including the bubonic plague, yellow fever, smallpox, Spanish influenza, and AIDS.
Book
The illness of empress Maria Theresa as a trigger for the adoption of variolation in Austria (1768)
In 1767, Austrian Empress Maria Theresa contracted smallpox and survived, but the disease had already claimed the lives of several members of her family. These personal losses renewed her interest in preventive measures against smallpox. Although initially skeptical, she authorized her physician, Gerard van Swieten, to explore the emerging practice of variolation. In 1768, Habsburg children were variolated by Jan Ingen-Housz—a landmark event in Austrian public health. To commemorate these events, the empire issued medals that not only celebrate scientific progress but also promote the state's commitment to the well-being of its people.
Variolation—the deliberate inoculation with smallpox matter to induce immunity—originated in Asia in the 16th century and spread through the Ottoman Empire before reaching Western Europe in 1721. Though often overshadowed in historical accounts by later developments, variolation was a crucial precursor to modern vaccination. In Austria, it paved the way for the first Jennerian vaccination (the inoculation of cowpox), administered in 1799 by Dr. Paskal Joseph Ritter Ferro—less than a year after Edward Jenner's groundbreaking publication in 1798. Smallpox was ultimately declared eradicated in 1980, but this achievement rested on earlier innovations, including variolation.
•After recovering from smallpox in 1767, Austrian Empress Maria Theresa championed the use of variolation (the inoculation of smallpox) in Austria.•The variolation of two of her sons and granddaughter in 1768 set a precedent for others to follow.•Variolation paved the way for the eventual adoption of vaccination (the inoculation of cowpox) in Austria in 1799.
Journal Article