Immunisation $1.69 AUD
Category: Medicine & Inventions
For many people, immunisation is their only hope at survival. It is responsible for saving millions of lives every year, eradicating some of the most horrific viruses, and increasing global health awareness. Without immunisation, historical plagues such as the “Black Death,” “Smallpox,” and “Spanish Influenza” would still be around. If we didn’t have immunisation, many of us wouldn’t be here.Immunisation records go as far back as the 10th century, but the modern technique didn’t start until 1721. During this year, an English scientist named Edward Jenner noticed that milk maids who were infected with the cowpox virus were immune to smallpox outbreaks. Jenner swabbed some cowpox puss from a maiden’s arm and injected a small amount of it into an eight year-old boy. Being a relatively harmless virus that is related to smallpox, the cowpox virus soon ran its course. The cowpox injection, known as an “inoculation,” made the boy immune to smallpox. His body resisted the deadly disease, even though Jenner injected him with it twice!
