It's #epidemiology history time! Up today: vaccination! Smallpox was a deadly disease that can be traced back as far as 3rd century BCE in Egyptian mummies and repeatedly appeared in outbreaks throughout history! Pop quiz: Who developed the first smallpox vaccine?

Although evidence exists that several cultures used forms of inoculation against smallpox centuries before the first vaccine was"discovered", Edward Jenner is credited for using cowpox material to produce immunity against smallpox starting with his 1796 experiments.

The root of the word "vaccine" is "Vacca", which is the Latin word meaning _____?

Mooooove over smallpox! Jenner coined the term "vaccine" from the root word meaning "cow". In humans, the cowpox virus is very similar to the smallpox virus but the cowpox disease runs a much milder course than the highly contagious and often deadly smallpox disease.

Jenner's controversial vaccination procedure involved inserting pus from a cowpox pustule through a small incision. Sounds gross, but was effective! Once vaccinated, a person develops antibodies against cowpox, & due to the similarity, also develops immunity to the smallpox virus

After initial ridicule at the time, his method prevailed & kicked off the long road to worldwide smallpox eradication. All thanks to some initial observations that dairy farmers were immune to smallpox (underlining why counting & comparing & descriptive analyses are so important)

In which year did the World Health Organization (WHO) formally declare the global eradication of smallpox?

The last naturally occurring case of this treacherous disease caused by the variola virus was diagnosed in October 1977. The WHO reported global eradication in 1980. This is pretty impressive considering there were still an estimated ~15 million new cases per year in the 1960s.

Currently, vaccines are available for a number of diseases that previously claimed millions of lives each year. It is always a good idea to check if you are up-to-date on your vaccine schedule. #publichealth #HerdImmunity

Sometimes, it is easy to forget about some of these deadly diseases still around today when we don't see the consequences regularly in our communities (Thanks to vaccines!). We've observed a strong, renewed interest in vaccination (and public health) during the #COVID19 pandemic!