Edward Jenner - The Man Who Saved More Lives Than Anyone Else in History

This weekend marks a massive landmark in thewest country figure. He was born in Berkeley, went
medical history of the world. It's the anniversary ofon to become mayor of Berkeley, and throughout his
an event which has saved billions of lives, and yet itlife practised as a much loved doctor in Berkeley. It
may not rate a single mention in the tabloid press. Forwas here he was buried, in the chancel of Berkeley
centuries millions of people lived in dread ofparish church, when he died of a stroke in 1823.
contracting smallpox, a highly contagious diseaseDuring his work with the local farming community he
which swept across continents as a deadly plague,noted that milkmaids rarely contracted smallpox. This
killing about a third of its victims and leaving survivorsled him to think that maybe when they contracted
heavily pock marked and sometimes blind. Towardscowpox, a similar but much less virulent disease, they
the end of the eighteenth century the disease wasmight gain protection from full-blown smallpox. To
killing 400,000 Europeans a year. Nobody knew howtest this idea he took a sample from the cowpox
it was caused, and no one knew how it could beblisters on the hand of Sarah Nelmes, a local milkmaid
controlled. It was called the 'small' pox merely towho had contracted the disease from a cow called
differentiate it from the longer recognised 'great' pox,Blossom.
or syphilis. Even as recently as 1967 it's reckonedHe then inoculated this sample into an eight-year old
that two million people across the globe were stilllad named James Phipps. Not wanting to wait around
dying as a result of this deadly disease. Now theto see if the boy caught smallpox later in life, he
malady has been wiped from the face of the earth,took the bold step of injecting the boy with samples
the sole instance of the total eradication of a humanof the smallpox virus. Since his 'volunteer' human
infectious disease.guinea pig showed no signs of succumbing to the
The story of this staggering breakthrough is one ofinfection, Jenner carried out further trials and
romance and human ingenuity. It begins in theeventually published a scientific paper on the subject
backstreet bazaars of Constantinople, and ends in aof 'variola vaccination', a term derived from the Latin
doctor's surgery in Berkeley, an historic market townvacca meaning a 'cow'. His colleagues at first were
in western Gloucestershire. At the end of thesceptical of his claims, which if proved true would
eighteenth century a particularly virulent pandemic ofreduce their incomes by mitigating one of their most
smallpox spread throughout Europe. Most of the folklucrative epidemic diseases. Many laymen, then as
cures at the time were little better than witch'snow, were fervent anti-vaccinationists. But eventually
potions. Some swore by: cinders of roasted toads,the virtue and safety of the procedure was proved
other put their faith in boiled sheep droppings. Butbeyond doubt, one doctor proclaiming that 'a man
one protective remedy showed a degree of promise.has no more right to allow his child to go
It was developed by Turkish peasants and is basedunvaccinated than to set fire to his house.' This
on the old idea that like cures like. People could get avigorous support from the scientific community
measure of protection from smallpox, it was found, ifenabled the British government to pass a Vaccination
they were injected with the pus-like matter takenAct in 1853 which made it compulsory for parents to
from the blisters of people who had overcome thevaccinate their children unless they could get a local
disease. The account of this early form ofJustice of the Peace to agree that this was contrary
immunisation was relayed to England at the beginningto their religious or moral beliefs.
of the eighteenth century by Lady Mary WortleyBy the introduction of this simple procedure the
Montagu, who was the wife of the British consul inbattle against smallpox was slowly won. Jenner's
Constantinople. She had attended parties wherecontribution was honoured throughout the world. He
wealthy townsfolk would bare their arms and receivewas appointed Physician Extraordinary to King
jabs from peasant women who had dipped theirGeorge IV, and was granted £30,000 out of the
needles in nut shells filled with a fluid laden with thepublic purse, which was today's equivalent of getting
smallpox virus. This potion was almost certainly takena roll-over lottery prize. In 1858 a statue of the great
from survivors of a variola minor infection, a lessbenefactor, funded largely by public subscription, was
virulent strain of smallpox which kills only one perset up in a place of honour in Trafalgar Square and
cent of its victims. This process was effective up tounveiled by Prince Albert. The tribute was welcomed
a point, but was not without risk. It was calledby the medical profession, an editorial published that
variolation and was clearly a forerunner of theyear in the 'British Medical Journal' saying; 'Why should
process we now know as immunisation.those who destroy be ever placed in the front rank,
Soon after this, an alternative remedy was pioneeredwhilst the philanthropist and the philosopher are only
by Dr Edward Jenner, a country physician who waspermitted to occupy out-of-the-way corners in
born on the 17th May 1794 in Berkeley, an historicforgotten squares?' Despite this widespread support,
Gloucestershire market town. Although Jenner wentthe authorities saw fit four years later to re-site the
on to achieve world wide fame, and earn the title ofstatue in a remote nook in Kensington Gardens
the 'Father of Immunology', he was essentially awhere it sadly remains to this day.