IMMUNOLOGY

OVERVIEW OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

THE GOOD BAD AND UGLY OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
How did Dr. Edward Jenner prove that cowpox virus inoculation was efficient in protecting against smallpox virus infection?
A
He guessed.
B
He wrote a good article.
C
He infected himself.
D
He tested it and proved it.
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -To test his theory, Dr. Jenner took material from a cowpox sore on milkmaid Sarah Nelmes’ hand and inoculated it into the arm of James Phipps, the 9-year-old son of Jenner’s gardener. Months later, Jenner exposed Phipps several times to variola virus, but Phipps never developed smallpox.

Detailed explanation-2: -The first vaccination He diagnosed cowpox rather than smallpox and Sarah confirmed that one of her cows, a Gloucester cow called Blossom, had recently had cowpox. Edward Jenner realised that this was his opportunity to test the protective properties of cowpox by giving it to someone who had not yet suffered smallpox.

Detailed explanation-3: -The smallpox vaccine, created by Edward Jenner in 1796, was the first successful vaccine to be developed. He observed that milkmaids who previously had caught cowpox did not catch smallpox and showed that a similar inoculation could be used to prevent smallpox in other people.

Detailed explanation-4: -Jenner hypothesized that contact with cowpox protected milkmaids from smallpox without causing any symptoms. He tested his hypothesis by scraping material from cowpox lesions and scratching this material into the skin of healthy individuals including his own son.

Detailed explanation-5: -They applied the scientific method by counting and comparing numbers of smallpox cases in cowpox vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals during smallpox outbreaks.

Detailed explanation-6: -Pondering this, Jenner concluded that cowpox not only protected against smallpox but also could be transmitted from one person to another as a deliberate mechanism of protection. In May 1796, Edward Jenner found a young dairymaid, Sarah Nelms, who had fresh cowpox lesions on her hands and arms (Figure 3).

Detailed explanation-7: -Edward Jenner discovered the smallpox vaccine. Through his work as a country doctor Jenner came to understand that cowpox not only protected against smallpox but could be transmitted from one person to another in order to protect them from the deadly disease.

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