Extract from Edward Jenner An inquiry into the causes and effects of the variolae vaccinae, known by the name of cow-pox (1789)
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 181 KB
- Volume
- 17
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0167-5699
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✦ Synopsis
An Inquiry into the Causes and E@cts of the Variolae Vaccinae, Known by the Name of Cow-pox (I 189) The more accurately to observe the progress of the infection I selected a healthy boy, about eight years old, for the purpose of inoculating for the cow-pox. The matter was taken from a sore on the hand of a dairymaid, who was infected by her master's cows, and it was inserted on the 14th day of May, 1796, into the arm of the boy by means of two superficial incisions, barely penetrating the cutis [skin], each about an inch long. On the seventh day he complained of an uneasiness in the axilla [armpit] and on the ninth he became a little chilly, lost his appetite, and had a slight headache. During the whole of this day he was perceptibly indisposed, and spent the night with some degree of restlessness, but on the following day he was perfectly well... In order to ascertain whether the boy, after feeling so slight an affection of the system from the cow-pox virus, was secure from the contagion of the smallpox, he was inoculated the 1st July following with variolous [smallpox] matter, immediately taken from a pustule. Several slight punctures and incisions were made on both his arms, and the matter was carefully inserted, but no disease followed. The same appearances were observable on the arms as we commonly see when a patient has had variolous matter applied, after having either the cow-pox or smallpox. Several months afterwards he was ag&n inoculated with variolous matter, but no sensible effect was produced on the constitution.