Jenner and his impact on medical science : [lecture given at the bicentenary meeting held at the Royal College of Surgeons of England on May 17] / by Sir Edward Mellanby.

  • Mellanby, Edward, Sir, 1884-1955.
Date:
[1949?]
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: Jenner and his impact on medical science : [lecture given at the bicentenary meeting held at the Royal College of Surgeons of England on May 17] / by Sir Edward Mellanby. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    However, Jenner in fact did choose smallpox as his objective, and, in spite of the complexity of virus problems which now face the scientific world, some due to their innate properties and some to the various species of animals and the different tissues in which their biological reactions have been studied, he would have the supreme satisfaction of realizing that he started all this work, that his views on the relationship of smallpox and vaccinia have been generally confirmed, and that indeed he can well be regarded as the father of modern virus studies and of the biological and pathological reactions they produce. Official Approval So far as the subsequent history of vaccination is concerned, I shall simply recall that Tenner’s triumph was great when the National Vaccine Board, consisting of the President and four Censors of the Royal College of Physicians and the Master and two Governors of the Royal College of Surgeons, was set up in 1808 by the Government. The immediate stimulus to this action was the report of the Royal College of Physicians, published in 1807, which concluded with the following words: “ The College of Physicians feel it their duty to strongly recommend the practice of vaccination. They have been led to this conclusion by no preconceived opinion, but by the most unbiased judgment, formed from an irresistible weight of evi¬ dence which has been laid before them. For when the number, the respectability, the disinterestedness and the extensive experi¬ ence of its advocates are compared with the feeble and imperfect testimonies of its few opposers ; and when it is considered that many, who were once adverse to vaccination have been con¬ vinced by further trials, and are now to be ranked among its warmest supporters, the truth seems to be established as firmly as the nature of such a question admits ; so that the College of Physicians conceive that the public may reasonably look for¬ ward with some degree of hope to the time when all opposition shall cease, and the general concurrence of mankind shall at length be able to put an end to the ravages at least, if not to the existence, of the smallpox.” In the light of this edict it is strange that variolation— namely, the inoculation of smallpox material as a prophy¬ lactic against the disease—which had been practised in the East from time immemorial and introduced into England largely owing to the influence of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu about 1722, continued to be practised in England until it was made a penal offence by the Vaccination Act of 1840. The long continuation of inoculation for smallpox for a period of over 30 years after the official acceptance of vaccination is an example of official inertia, especially in view of the truth and force of Jenners arguments that it was a more dangerous procedure to the individual than