Smallpox Cowpox Ignaz Semmelweis and the failure of old fashioned science

[robinson]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1069029/

Smallpox is caused by the variola virus, a DNA virus of the genus Orthopoxvirus. Humans are the only known reservoir for this virus. It is transmitted from person to person, and natural infection occurs by inhalation of respiratory droplets or contact with infected material on mucous membranes. Historical data suggest that smallpox is not highly transmissible, and high population densities are required to sustain transmission. Persons who have close, prolonged contact with an infected patient are at highest risk. After a 10 to 14 day incubation period, the infected person develops severe symptoms with fever, malaise and headache. A maculopapular rash then develops with involvement of the face, mucous membranes, trunk and extremities. The lesions become pustular and deep over the subsequent 1 to 2 days, with scab formation by day 10. Patients are most infectious during the first week of the rash when viral shedding is greatest from ulcerated lesions in the oral mucosa. The overall mortality rate is about 30%, with most deaths occurring during the second week of illness.

The earliest smallpox prevention efforts date back to at least the 10th century in China, when physicians found that nasal inoculation of susceptible persons with material from smallpox lesions would sometimes provide immunity. The practice of inoculation appears to have arisen independently in several other regions prior to the 17th century, including Africa and India, but the practice did not gain popularity in western Europe until the 18th century. The wife of an English ambassador, Lady Montagu, observed inoculation in Turkey, and later had her own child successfully inoculated during a smallpox epidemic in England.5In this procedure a lancet or needle was used to deliver a subcutaneous dose of smallpox material to a susceptible person. The procedure, also known as variolation, was controversial. It generated immunity in many cases, but it also killed some people and contributed to smallpox outbreaks.

A more safe and effective method for smallpox control originated in the late 18th century when Dr. Edward Jenner of Gloucestershire, England noticed that milkmaids exposed to cowpox appeared to be immune to smallpox. He tested his hypothesis by inoculating a boy with cowpox pus and subsequently challenging him with smallpox. The experiment was a success, and Jenner prepared a paper describing this case along with 13 other individuals who had contracted either horsepox or cowpox before being exposed to smallpox. In one of the worst editorial decisions of all time, the Royal Society rejected the paper and suggested that Jenner cease his cowpox investigations. Jenner wisely ignored this advice, named the cowpox material the “vaccine virus”, and thus discovered the concept of vaccination. Early smallpox vaccinations utilized pustular material from one vaccinated person to directly inoculate another person by scratching the material into the recipient's arm. Later improvements included the inoculation of cow flanks to obtain larger quantities of virus, and use of glycerol solution as a preservative. A textbook published in the early 20th century described the vaccination process as follows:

A spot, usually on the upper arm, is scraped by a lancet, so that the outer layers of the epidermis are removed; the spot is then rubbed with an ivory point, quill or tube, carrying the virus. A slight and usually unimportant illness or indisposition follows, and the arm is sore for a time, a characteristic scar remaining.

The modern vaccine was conceived in the 1950s when a technique was developed to produce a heat-stable, freeze-dried vaccine. This process used centrifugation to create a suspension of virus, which was then freeze-dried in ampules. This had the advantage of allowing long-term storage without refrigeration.

[Doctor X]

First.

–J.D.

[Doctor X]

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d1/84/39 ... f20b35.jpg

–J.D.

[shemp]

I would love to inject them with my "vaccine."

[robinson]

They may be immune to "loser injections"

[shemp]

Hee hee, the little troll is so cute when tries to make a funneh, but he always fails and slinks sheepishly back under his rock.

[robinson]

Modern skeptics and scientists get prickly (or downright nasty) when faced with the obvious

[robinson]

If only

[robinson]

If only old fashioned science wasn't so stupid

[sparks]

We had to start somewhere. Nothing is ever perfected right out of the gate.

Except all the bullshit about Sky Daddy of course.

[sparks]

Give 'em a break AA: Pretending is the only thing they're any good at. And I'm sure they take great pride in making shit up! :):)


(Caution, thread derail ahead) BTW, how's retirement? I need another 8 years myself. Could do it in 4, but it'll be a lot more comfy in 8. At which point I'll have wasted 54 years doing this job.

Fuck. I should be sailing.

[robinson]

Yes