Vaccination
Small pox is a very infectious disease. When once it breaks out in a place, it spreads very rapidly. So people suffering from small pax are kept separately.
The commonest sight we come across in public places are the pock marked faces of the people who have suffered from small pox.
But nowadays on account of vaccination, ft is not very bad. When vaccination was first introduced in India the ignorant and illiterate people were very much terrified. They thought that the government was trying to reduce the population by killing people and trying to weaken the people by putting disease germs into their blood.
But after sometime they got used to vaccination and recognize its great benefit. A disease which was prevalent in India is almost unknown in present times due to regular vaccination. The prevention of small pox by vaccination was discovered by an English Doctor named Edward Jenner. Jenner learnt that a girl who had cow pox was immune lo small pox.
For twenty years he patiently went on making experiments with a view to discovering a way of preventing small pox. He learnt that people who have had cow pox were safe against small pox. He found that people given a mild form of cow pox by means of vaccination are safe-guarded from small-pox. His discovery was not accepted even by the medical people at first.
As an experiment, Jenner vaccinated his own son and proved that he was immune from small-pox.
People thought that if they were vaccinated, they would grow horns and speak with voices like the bellowing of the bulls. It was also said that children when vaccinated became ox-faced.
But in time the doctors realized the advantages of vaccination and Jenner’s discovery was accepted all over the world.
Twenty eight years after his death, a law was passed making the vaccination of all babies born in England compulsory. Small pox was driven out of England. It would be driven out from other countries as well if vaccination of children were made compulsory.
Though Jenner made the great discovery, he was not proud. He was highly respected and elected as a member of the scientific society in Europe.
But he was very modest and did not care either for honours or riches. His satisfaction lay in the ‘thought that he had made a discovery that would save people from small box.
Even Napoleon who was opposed to the British, highly respected the name of Jenner and released many British prisoners of war when his name was mentioned by the Queen of England.
