Who created the first vaccine?
In 1796, Edward Jenner created the first vaccine by infecting a boy named James Phipps with cowpox, which protected him from smallpox.
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Smallpox Facts
Smallpox facts and facts about smallpoxes.
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What was variolation?
Before vaccines, people in China, India, Africa, and the Ottoman Empire practiced variolation, deliberately infecting someone with mild smallpox material to build immunity.
Who taught Boston about smallpox inoculation?
An enslaved man named Onesimus taught Puritan minister Cotton Mather about smallpox inoculation from West Africa, and Mather promoted it during Boston's 1721 outbreak.
When was smallpox eradicated?
The World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated in 1980, making it the first human disease wiped out by vaccination.
What was the second disease ever eradicated?
Rinderpest, a deadly cattle disease, was declared eradicated in 2011, the second disease ever wiped out after smallpox.
How did smallpox affect the Aztecs?
A smallpox epidemic in 1520 devastated the Aztec population.