R2318th

1796 Edward Jenner’s smallpox vaccine The influence of sanitation and health care practices on society: food supply, diet, famine, disease, and their impact

After the bubonic plague declined, smallpox became the most devastating disease, killing 60 million Europeans. Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine, setting the tone for a different type of society. Jenner’s example in the field of medicine eliminated one of the worst diseases occurring in Europe during that time. In 1769, Jenner took the scrapings of cowpox sores (a more mild condition of smallpox that wasn’t contagious) on milkmaids and put it into the veins of healthy humans as a vaccination against smallpox. This practice of sanitation started new developments in society, primarily the population boom, but also the need and realization of a healthier lifestyle. It also laid the foundation for future immunizations. Mckay, Hill, Buckler, John, Bennet, John. //A History of Western Society//. 7. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.