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History of vaccinations
History of vaccinations
Eradication of smallpox history
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Introduction In the past, people believed that the deities existed, and they controlled the world. Also, human beings were not defeated by some powerful diseases, and they believed that the diseases came from God’s punishment. It killed a great number of people. People felt weak, apprehensive, and terrified. The main reason why people were terrified of the diseases is that they couldn't find some methods to treat or prevent the diseases. In history, many deadly diseases caused huge damage to cultures or countries, so we should have known smallpox that had effect and cause many people between present and the past.
Background
Most people known that smallpox was a serious disease, but they were not clearly understanding what causes smallpox was. Some simple introductions about smallpox is that smallpox was one kind of contagion, and if you got it, the red spots appeared first on your face, hands and forearms, and later on your trunk. In fact, the origin of smallpox was one kind of powerful natural disease
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The smallpox vaccine can protect people that is only way to prevent smallpox vaccine. In the article “ Smallpox Vaccine,” by FamilyDoctor (2012) stated that the smallpox vaccine was used to wipe out smallpox disease until the early 1970s in the world, and it much like other vaccines can protects people against infection by helping their body develop immunity to the smallpox virus. It shows the smallpox vaccine is a more effective method to prevent smallpox disease. Besides, people can get smallpox vaccine easily, and they can save it. According to research by World Health Organization (2014), the vaccinia virus is remarkably stable because it stored under appropriate conditions for as long as 18 years have not lost their potency. Therefore, the governments or some international organizations can save a lot of smallpox
Faith in religion had fallen because the prayers of the people were not answered. The people even thought that it was god whom had unleashed this deadly disease. One piece of evidence that I used stated,” Some felt that the wrath of God was descending upon man, and so fought the plague with player (Document 6).” Another piece of evidence stated,” Faith in religion decreased after the plague, both because of the death of so many of the clergy and because of the failure of prayer to prevent sickness and death (Document 6).”
Many wondered what the true cause of the Black Plague was and how it spread all across the world in such a short amount of time. Throughout its time period, many medical authorities and scientists sought to give rational explanations for the reasons why the plague was spreading and believed it was caused by several factors such as: “corrupted air and water, hot and humid southerly winds, proximity of swamps, lack of purifying sunshine, excrement and other filth, putrid decomposition of dead bodies, excessive indulgence in foods (particularly fruits), God's wrath, punishment for sins, and the conjunction of stars and planets” (Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence). The confusion and lack of scientific knowledge on the harmful disease caused much panic and triggered many outbreaks among individuals. Many people began to start placing cities and ships under quarantine, burning sulfur to purify bad air, burning clothes, and even blaming and killing Jews in hope that they could solve a cure or at least stop the spread.
An important fact to remember is that in those times, opinions and actions were either based on or blamed on religion and superstition. For example, people started marching across the country, punishing themselves on the basis that the plague was the result of all of man’s sin, whilst trying to persuade people of their cause. Also, charms were used by some cultures, such as the “Abra Kadabra” charm, which was either carved, or worn as protective jewellery to ward off the evil spirits causing the plague. It looked similar to the image below.
The outburst spread of diseases in a population causes people to panic and become hopeless. The main reason diseases spread is due to unsanitary living styles. Also when a disease first begins, it is really hard to find a cure right away. A very deadly, infectious disease known as Typhus spread during the Holocaust. Typhus is caused by rickettsia and is spread by lice and flees.
... risk of developing the disease. It was observed that those who had been infected with the clinically similar but less severe cowpox disease by milking cows were also immune to smallpox. This observation led Edward Jenner to his first ever vaccination technique. He inserted the cowpox virus obtained from the scabs of a woman into a boy, and then when the boy was inoculated some time later, he proved immune to smallpox (Fenner). It is impossible to contract smallpox from this inoculation of the less virulent related virus and allowed individuals a way to protect themselves without risk. Later, the smallpox vaccination was adapted by using a different live virus, the vaccinia virus which is more similar to variola than cowpox and therefore provides better cross-immunity. As the practice of vaccination gained popularity, it had a significant impact on life expectancy.
The perspective the author gives to this book is a unique. Smallpox according to most histories does not play the role of a major character, but a minor part. In my opinion smallpox was a major factor during the Revolutionary War, and Feen focuses on several key areas which allows us to see just how bad this epidemic was and the grip it had not only on the soldiers, but the colonist as well.
Since Plagues and Peoples covers several subjects of knowledge, he helps the reader understand key concepts by fully explaining parasitism and its dependence on humans and animals. People in the field of history, which make up a majority of this books audience, would need more insight into epidemiology to grasp its key concepts. It would not be likely for a historian to be knowledgeable in a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in populations.
Smallpox is a highly infectious and fatal disease caused by the Variola virus. It causes extremely painful pustules to sprout across the entire body. Spread from human to human, it has since been eradicated from the world through the efforts of the World Health Organization. However, there is a distinct possibility that it may be reintroduced through bioterrorism. Biological weapons may cause another pandemic to erupt across the world and kill millions of individuals. Through constant vigilance and careful planning, mankind can prevent this scenario.
Vaccines have been used to prevent diseases for centuries, and have saved countless lives of children and adults. The smallpox vaccine was invented as early as 1796, and since then the use of vaccines has continued to protect us from countless life threatening diseases such as polio, measles, and pertussis. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) assures that vaccines are extensively tested by scientist to make sure they are effective and safe, and must receive the approval of the Food and Drug Administration before being used. “Perhaps the greatest success story in public health is the reduction of infectious diseases due to the use of vaccines” (CDC, 2010). Routine immunization has eliminated smallpox from the globe and led to the near removal of wild polio virus. Vaccines have reduced some preventable infectious diseases to an all-time low, and now few people experience the devastating effects of measles, pertussis, and other illnesses.
Native Americans never came in contact with diseases that developed in the Old World because they were separated from Asia, Africa, and Europe when ocean levels rose following the end of the last Ice Age. Diseases like smallpox, measles, pneumonia, influenza, and malaria were unknown to the Native Americans until the Europeans brought these diseases over time to them. This triggered the largest population decline in all recorded history. Fifty percent of the Native American population had died of disease within twenty years. Soon after, Native Americans began to question their religion and doubted the ability of shamen to heal. This was the first step towards the destruction of Native cultures. The Native Americans had never experienced anything like these deadly diseases before and they came to believe that Europeans had the power to kill or give life.
We can see this as we compare the writings of Weyer, (document 4) from the fifteenth century, who feared the Plague, to the writings of Bertrand, (document 16) from the eighteenth as he declared the Plague was cause because of religious superstition. This shift in belief may be caused by the "Age of Enlightenment" that caused people to think more irrationality, and to heavily believe in
During the fourteenth century, bacteria and viruses were mostly unknown to doctors, which meant they were most certainly unheard of for the majority of the population. Now, it is widely believed that it was caused by bacterial strains. Back then, however, people had to produce their own reasons for the Plague. In Europe, the causes of the Black Death were said to be miasma (impure air) carried by the warm southern winds. The event of March 20, 1345, the conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, and excessively atrocious clothing were thought to add to the ubiquitous disease. In contrast, the people near the East believed that the said disease was supposedly caused by miasma as well, but due to wind carrying the vile odor of Mongol bodies...
Vaccinations are a particular type of disease preventer with a lot flaws. Vaccines should be non-compulsory. people should have a choice if they want to inject their children with an inactive disease that's up to them. No medicine is perfect most of the time vaccines have had a positive outcome on the majority of the world’s population that have had vaccines. Although the percentage of incidents are low they can still be serious. People say vaccines can lead to autism and other symptoms.
Illness has been a major part of humankind’s lives almost since the beginning of time. Throughout history, illnesses caused fatal epidemics that caused deaths between young and old, and brought fear upon all for the absence of a cure. Having an illness throughout most of history was considered an inevitable death sentence, as the majority of causes of death (Offit). Vaccinations have been experimented in China and Turkey in the 15th century, with methods such as inhaling or rubbing grounded up smallpox scabs against open cuts (Clem). Then in 1700s, the first form of modern vaccination was invented by Edward Jenner with the cowpox virus acting against smallpox, giving immunity against it (Offit).
Until its eradication, smallpox was a disease that had been ravaging the human race for a very long time. It emerged as much as 10,000 years ago, probably in the Nile Valley and what is now the Middle East. This emergence occurred around the time that humans began to create farming communities and turn away from nomadic existence, thus allowing the smallpox virus a chance to move from person to person (Ogden 2). Since that time, outbreaks have occurred in all different regions of the globe, although the disease was not introduced into the New World until 1518 when a Spanish ship landed on the island of Hispaniola, thus wiping out half of the population. The Spanish sailors had previously been infected by a strain of the smallpox virus and were therefore immune. The natives, however, had never been exposed to the virus and their bodies were unable to fight it off at all. It is thought that as much as 90 percent of the native populations of the New World were killed by smallpox in conjunction with the other previously unseen diseases that were brought over by explorers (Ogden 3).