The story behind the development of smallpox vaccine

Scientist, Edward Jenner observed that the milkmaids who were exposed to the cowpox virus (a virus that affected cows) did not develop smallpox which lead to the discovery of vaccine

Hyderabad: With the pandemic happening around the world and while you are locked up in your house you might be wondering, are all the viruses like corona bad for humans? Isn’t there a good guy out of all the harmful ones? Well… not really. About a majority of viruses are life-threatening ones but actually, there is one virus that can be considered a kind of help only to humans — the Cowpox virus.

Before I talk about its benevolence, let me introduce you to a dangerous virus — smallpox. It had been troubling us since ancient times but now it’s no more meaning it has been completely eradicated. How? That’s an interesting story…

Smallpox had been the cause of a lot of deaths and those who survived it couldn’t escape its dark side – they were either disabled or horrible to look at. It affected all age groups. However, there was a curious scientist, Edward Jenner who found an interesting phenomenon. He observed that the milkmaids who were exposed to the cowpox virus (a virus that affected cows) did not develop smallpox. Surprising, isn’t it? Eventually, he even decided to test it.

On May 14, 1796, Jenner took fluid from a cowpox blister and scratched it into the skin of an eight-year-old boy. A blister rose but the boy soon recovered. Jenner now injected the boy again with the smallpox matter this time. Fortunately, no disease developed. This experiment was successful and led to the discovery of the smallpox vaccine.

(The author is a Class VIII student at St. Andrews School, Bowenpally)

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