For the "rabid" antivaxers!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/smallpox-and-the-photos-anti-vaxxers-dont-want-you-to-see/24MJGHWAIJRJYD6LIPQ6ZTBKHI/ https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/smallpox-and-the-photos-anti-vaxxers-dont-want-you-to-see/24MJGHWAIJRJYD6LIPQ6ZTBKHI/
It was one of the deadliest and most contagious diseases known to humankind.
Smallpox killed over half a billion people in the 20th century alone — three times the number of deaths from all of the century's wars combined.
It began with flu-like symptoms, progressing to an horrendous rash consisting of deep sores, filled with fluid that would blister, ooze, crust and scab over, leaving permanent scars on those lucky enough to survive.
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Just one teaspoon of smallpox virus is enough to infect every man, woman and child on earth, news.com.au reports.
But then a miracle — British doctor Edward Jenner created a vaccine after noticing that the milk maids (the women who milked the cows) who had been infected with "cow pox" never contracted smallpox.
This month marks the 270th birthday of Dr Jenner, known as the pioneer of vaccination who arguably saved more lives than anyone else in history. And yet, despite saving countless lives, he still had to deal with the early "anti-vaxx" movement where in 1796 as well as 2019, the boundaries between opinion and fact are often blurred.
Many people are too young to have ever seen smallpox in their lifetime, or have simply forgotten the sheer horror of the disease.
With a mortality rate of up to 30 per cent, many survivors of smallpox were left with significant scarring and even blindness. Smallpox has no cure, but that didn't stop people from trying, with treatments including being bled, purged, starved, and wrapped tightly in red cloth.
Owen Gower, vaccine expert and museum manager at Dr Jenner's House, told news.com.au it's difficult for many of us to comprehend what was achieved through vaccination against smallpox.
read on ... with the link
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/smallpox-and-the-photos-anti-vaxxers-dont-want-you-to-see/24MJGHWAIJRJYD6LIPQ6ZTBKHI/ https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/smallpox-and-the-photos-anti-vaxxers-dont-want-you-to-see/24MJGHWAIJRJYD6LIPQ6ZTBKHI/
It was one of the deadliest and most contagious diseases known to humankind.
Smallpox killed over half a billion people in the 20th century alone — three times the number of deaths from all of the century's wars combined.
It began with flu-like symptoms, progressing to an horrendous rash consisting of deep sores, filled with fluid that would blister, ooze, crust and scab over, leaving permanent scars on those lucky enough to survive.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Just one teaspoon of smallpox virus is enough to infect every man, woman and child on earth, news.com.au reports.
But then a miracle — British doctor Edward Jenner created a vaccine after noticing that the milk maids (the women who milked the cows) who had been infected with "cow pox" never contracted smallpox.
This month marks the 270th birthday of Dr Jenner, known as the pioneer of vaccination who arguably saved more lives than anyone else in history. And yet, despite saving countless lives, he still had to deal with the early "anti-vaxx" movement where in 1796 as well as 2019, the boundaries between opinion and fact are often blurred.
Many people are too young to have ever seen smallpox in their lifetime, or have simply forgotten the sheer horror of the disease.
With a mortality rate of up to 30 per cent, many survivors of smallpox were left with significant scarring and even blindness. Smallpox has no cure, but that didn't stop people from trying, with treatments including being bled, purged, starved, and wrapped tightly in red cloth.
Owen Gower, vaccine expert and museum manager at Dr Jenner's House, told news.com.au it's difficult for many of us to comprehend what was achieved through vaccination against smallpox.
read on ... with the link
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