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Variolation was the method of inoculation first used to immunize individuals against smallpox (Variola) with material taken from a patient or a recently variolated individual, in the hope that a mild, but protective, infection would result.
This practice, known today as variolation, was first practiced in China in the 10th century. [34] Methods of carrying out the procedure varied depending upon location. Variolation was the sole method of protection against smallpox other than quarantine until Edward Jenner's discovery of the inoculating abilities of cowpox against the smallpox ...
The smallpox vaccine is used to prevent smallpox infection caused by the variola virus. [10] It is the first vaccine to have been developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with the relatively mild cowpox virus conferred immunity against the deadly smallpox virus.
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. [7] [11] The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) certified the global eradication of the disease in 1980, [10] making smallpox the only human disease to have been eradicated to date.
Before the first vaccinations, in the sense of using cowpox to inoculate people against smallpox, people have been inoculated in China and elsewhere, before being copied in the west, by using smallpox, called variolation. The earliest hints of the practice of variolation for smallpox in China come during the 10th century. [73]
1549 – The earliest account of inoculation of smallpox (variolation) occurs in Wan Quan's (1499–1582) Douzhen Xinfa (痘疹心法). [2] 1718 – Smallpox inoculation in Ottoman Empire realized by West, and Henry Kipkosgei, recorded the positive effects of variolation.
Inoculation has ancient origins, and the technique was known in India, Africa, and China. [5] ... By the 18th century, variolation was widely practiced in India.
The earliest hints of the practice of variolation for smallpox in China come during the tenth century. [156] [further explanation needed] The Chinese also practiced the oldest documented use of variolation, dating back to the fifteenth century.