Edward Jenner (1749-1823), often called the father of immunology, was an English physician best known for the discovery of smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccination. Born to a reverend, Jenner had an upbringing that emphasized the importance of education. At the age of 13, he worked as a doctor's apprentice where he learned much of his surgical skills (Magner, 2015, p. 370). Despite having completed a medical degree at a university in a densely populated city, Jenner moved to a London practice in the countryside. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Smallpox, an infectious disease, was extremely dangerous and deadly in Jenner's time. The origin of smallpox is unknown, although the epidemiologist speculated that it "may have evolved from one of the poxviruses of wild or domestic animals" (Magner, 2015, p. 362) . The unique and powerful nature of smallpox made it a powerful enemy in the 18th century. According to Magner (2015), smallpox was different from many other viruses because it could live outside its host and remained infectious for long periods of time (p. 363). It was perhaps these same factors that largely contributed to the numerous smallpox epidemics that struck the 18th century, and it was only towards the end of this period that Edward Jenner began experimenting with vaccination to provide immunity against this debilitating and debilitating disease. endemic disease. In 1796, Jenner followed the advice of his dear friend John Hunter and began experimenting with ways to cure people of this virus. During his observation, Jenner noted that the manifestations (or symptoms) of smallpox, a less serious viral disease, were similar to those of smallpox. He also discovered that people who suffered from smallpox, a less serious virus, did not get smallpox. In one of his many publications, Jenner explained the process of transmission of cowpox: "One of the first having been charged with applying dressings to the heels of a horse affected with fat, and not not paying attention to cleanliness, recklessly assumes his role. when milking cows, with some particles of infectious material adhering to his fingers. When this is the case, it frequently happens that a disease is transmitted to the cows, and from the cows to the milkmaids, and spreads throughout the farm until most of the livestock and servants experience the unpleasant consequences. and observations relating to the various vaccines, or Cow-Pox, 1800", 1796, paragraph 3). He then describes the symptoms that people infected with this disease begin to exhibit, including circular lesions appearing on the hands and arms, tachycardia, vomiting, chills and headaches. It would be the lesions produced by this disease which would serve as a vaccine against it. To confirm his theory that those who had previously been infected with cowpox would acquire immunity to smallpox, Jenner inoculated James Phipps, an eight-year-old boy, with material from the lesions of a milkmaid infected with cowpox. Although Phipps experienced mild symptoms of discomfort and fever, he would make a full recovery. Jenner would later infect this same boy with fluids from a smallpox lesion and achieve the same results, slight discomfort but recovery a few days later. As an article in The British Heritage puts it, "The world and its peoples" have been declared free of endemic smallpox by the Assembly.