Edward Jenner

Edward Jenner [ ɛdwəd dʒɛnə ] (born 6 Maijul / May 17 1749greg in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, .. † January 26, 1823 ) was an English country doctor who developed the modern vaccination against smallpox.

Life

Jenner was a student at Cirencester Grammar School, studied anatomy and surgery at St. George's Hospital in London and returned to Berkeley to open his own practice.

Vaccination with intact poxviruses has been previously practiced in Turkey and brought by Mary Wortley Montagu to Europe, where she was, for example, practiced by Jan Ingenhousz. However, it was a risky prevention measure. From 1770 several people already vaccinated in England and Germany, including Benjamin Jesty (1774 ) and Peter Plett (1791 ) with the Kuhpockenlymphe. Also Jenner used the common opinion that milkmaids who had been infected with cowpox usually not suffering from the actual smallpox. In May 1796, he made ​​an attempt, by inoculating the boy James Phipps with cowpox or vaccinia viruses, which he had taken from a Kuhpockenpustel. Six weeks later, Jenner infected the boy with smallpox pus; he proved to be immune. As Jenners article from the Royal Society was rejected, he undertook further tests - even with his 11 months old son. In 1798 he published his results and had to see that they tried to make him ridiculous. However, the propagated method he prevailed.

Jenner described his method as "vaccination " ( German vaccination ). This term is in English today still for the vaccination of healthy person with attenuated or inactivated pathogens, or their immunogenic components.

Jenner was an accurate observer of nature: he was the one who found that a young cuckoo his " step-siblings " urges gradually out of the nest until it is fed as the sole protégé of his "host". For this observation, he was elected in 1789 a "Fellow " of the Royal Society. In 1802, Edward Jenner was a member of the Federation of the Freemasons, his box Faith and Friendship is a resident of Berkeley ( Gloucestershire ).