To what extent did the work of Edward Jenner aid the progression of medical knowledge and treatment?

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To what extent did the work of Edward Jenner aid the progression of medical knowledge and treatment?

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Edward Jenner (1749-1823) was an English country doctor who practiced medicine in Gloucestershire. He is famous as the first doctor to introduce and study the smallpox vaccine.

Smallpox (also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera) is a virus spread through coughing, sneezing and physical contact with an infected person. It once proved to be one of the biggest killer diseases, killing an estimated 60 million Europeans in the 18th century alone. In desperation, many infected persons turned to herbal treatments similar to those used by Grace Mildmay, a prodominant woman in the line of healing, during the seventeenth century.

Innoculation was the first method of prevention in relation to smallpox. The observation of Chinese doctors led them to believe that speading matter from a smallpox scab onto an open cut in the skin protected people from the full severity of the disease. This was based on the fact thst those who had previously experienced a mild form of smallpox were more likely to survive later epidemics. Potential for both preventing smallpox and making money was quickly exploited and innoculations were caried out in mass numbers during epidemics.

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Although there was some success, innoculation was not without risk, as was brought to the attention of Edward Jenner when many refused to receive it. Death was a potential outcome, as was the possibility of treated patients becoming carriers and consequantly spreading the disease to those with whom they came into contact. Local farmers told Jenner that they did not need the innoculation. This was because they believed that after having previously contracted cowpox, a significantly milder disease, you were less likely to catch smallpox.

Jenner enbraced the idea of using cowpox as a much safer method of ...

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