Small Pox Edward Jenner

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Smallpox is a highly-infectious disease that plagued the world for many years. It spread and destroyed people all around the world for more than 3,000 years until finally combated by Edward Jenner in 1788. Jenner observed cattle farmers who did not contract smallpox when an epidemic hit Gloucestershire, England. As he observed that farmers with cowpox could not develop smallpox, he formed the theory that cowpox could prevent smallpox. By testing his theory with a boy by putting cowpox into the boy’s incision, the boy became mildly ill with cowpox. However, the boy could not develop smallpox. Jenner called his new method “vaccination.” Years after his death, this vaccination was made mandatory by the United Kingdom and eventually helped rid the world of the disease. Before the elimination of …show more content…
This disease is “a relatively contagious disease for its ability to cause massive epidemics” (Carson-Dewitt 2). The variola virus, a poxvirus family member, causes the spread of smallpox as it invades the cells of the victim (Carson-DeWitt Science 1). It makes millions of copies of itself and those copies break out of the cell, destroying it ultimately (Reingold 9). Smallpox may be contracted through direct or indirect contact. First, the virus will spread if one experiences contact with a contaminated person. This may include sneezing, talking, coughing, or exchange of saliva. Indirectly, the virus may be spread through air circulating systems in a large building, such as air condition. It attaches onto air droplets and travels through the air. Although extremely uncommon, it may also be spread through unanimate contaminated objects, such as bedding, clothing, or furniture. In many cases, it has been speculated that terrorists may use the virus as a weapon to threaten the world by potentially releasing it (Mayo 2). As one deepens his or her knowledge on the causes of smallpox, his or her understanding of the disease