Historia de la ciencia: ¿cómo se creó la vacuna contra la viruela?
Summary
TLDRThis script narrates the history of smallpox, a deadly disease that once plagued humanity, and the groundbreaking innovation of vaccination that led to its eradication. In the 18th century, British physician Edward Jenner discovered that exposure to cowpox could confer immunity to smallpox. His experiments with young James Phipps confirmed this, leading to widespread vaccination campaigns. Despite initial resistance and controversy, the method of using orphaned children to maintain the vaccine's potency was employed to bring it to Peru by the end of the century. Jenner's work has since saved millions of lives and marked a significant milestone in health history.
Takeaways
- 😷 Smallpox was the most deadly disease in human history, feared for both its mortality rate and the disfiguring scars it left on survivors.
- 🌍 The impact of smallpox in Peru was devastating, arriving during the discovery and conquest when the native population had no immunity.
- 🤒 The death of Inca Huayna Capac is suspected to be due to smallpox, marking the end of the Inca era.
- 💉 Smallpox no longer exists, having been eradicated largely thanks to one of the most impactful scientific innovations: the discovery of the vaccine.
- 👨⚕️ In the mid-18th century, British rural physician Edward Jenner noticed a popular rumor that milkmaids were immune to smallpox, leading him to investigate the link between cowpox exposure and immunity.
- 🧬 Jenner's experiment with James Phipps, inoculating him with a weakened dose of cowpox, demonstrated that exposure to an attenuated version of a disease could confer immunity.
- 🇬🇧 The British crown began promoting free vaccination campaigns after Jenner's results were validated by the British Medical Society.
- 🌐 Other empires, including the Spanish crown, followed Britain's example, initiating vaccination efforts.
- 🛡️ The real philanthropic vaccine expedition used an original and risky method of preserving the vaccine by using hundreds of orphaned children as a means of vaccine conservation.
- 🚶♂️ The controversial and unorthodox method of transferring the vaccine fluid from one child to another over months was used to bring the vaccine to Peru by the end of the 18th century.
- 🤔 Reception of the vaccine was mixed, with fears of acquiring animal properties, criticism of using children, concerns about side effects, and accusations of the crown using vaccination as a means to tax the population.
- 🏆 Despite challenges, the effort to bring the vaccine to remote parts of the Americas is a notable milestone in health history, with Jenner now recognized as one of the most influential scientists in history, and vaccines having saved millions of lives.
Q & A
What is the disease that has killed the most people in human history?
-Smallpox has been the disease that has killed the most people in human history.
Why was smallpox particularly feared during its time?
-Smallpox was feared not only for the deaths it caused but also for the disfiguring marks it left on survivors.
What was the impact of smallpox on the native population in Peru during the discovery and conquest period?
-The impact of smallpox on the native population in Peru was devastating, as they had no immunity to the disease.
Who is believed to have died from smallpox, marking the end of the Inca era?
-It is believed that the Inca Huayna Cápac died from smallpox, signaling the end of the Inca era.
What medical innovation is largely credited with the eradication of smallpox?
-The discovery of the vaccine is largely credited with the eradication of smallpox.
Who was the British rural physician that noticed a possible link between cowpox and immunity to smallpox?
-Edward Jenner was the British rural physician who noticed a possible link between cowpox and immunity to smallpox.
What experiment did Edward Jenner perform to test his hypothesis about cowpox and smallpox immunity?
-Edward Jenner inoculated an 8-year-old boy, James Phipps, with a weakened dose of cowpox and later exposed him to smallpox without any signs of infection, proving his hypothesis.
How did the British Crown respond to Jenner's findings on vaccination?
-The British Crown validated Jenner's results and started promoting free vaccination campaigns throughout its territory.
What was the method used to transport the vaccine to the Americas in the 18th century, given the lack of modern refrigeration?
-The vaccine was transported using an original and risky method: inoculating hundreds of orphaned children with the vaccine, and then using the fresh fluid from the resulting pustules to inoculate another child, repeating the process over the course of the journey.
What were some of the misconceptions and fears that arose in Peru when the vaccine was introduced?
-Misconceptions included the belief that vaccination could give people animal properties, criticism of using children as a means of transporting the vaccine, fears about side effects, and accusations that the crown was using vaccination as a way to censor the population for tax collection.
How is Edward Jenner viewed in the history of science today?
-Edward Jenner is considered one of the most transcendent scientists in history, and his work on vaccines has saved millions of lives.
Outlines
🦠 The Devastating Impact of Smallpox and the Dawn of Vaccination
Jorge Lossio introduces the topic by highlighting smallpox as the deadliest disease in human history, feared for its high mortality rate and the disfiguring scars it left on survivors. The disease had a catastrophic impact on the native Peruvian population during the time of discovery and conquest, as they had no immunity. It is believed that the last Inca, Huayna Cápac, died from smallpox, marking the end of the Inca era. The script then shifts to discuss the eradication of smallpox, largely due to one of the most impactful scientific innovations: the discovery of the vaccine. Vaccines have since protected millions of children in their early years of life.
🧬 Edward Jenner's Pioneering Vaccine Research
The script delves into the story of Edward Jenner, a British rural physician in the mid-18th century, who noticed a popular belief that milkmaids developed immunity to smallpox. Intrigued by this, Jenner investigated the connection between exposure to cowpox and immunity to smallpox. He conducted an experiment by inoculating an 8-year-old boy, James Phipps, with a weakened dose of cowpox. After exposing Phipps to a stronger dose of human smallpox, he showed no signs of infection, proving Jenner's hypothesis that exposure to a milder form of the disease could confer immunity.
🏴 The British Crown's Promotion of Vaccination
Following Jenner's successful demonstration, he vaccinated many more children and adults and presented his findings to the British Medical Society. His results were validated, and the British crown began promoting free vaccination campaigns throughout its territory. In the subsequent years, other empires, including the Spanish crown, followed the British example, initiating vaccination efforts in their colonies.
🧪 The Original and Risky Method of Vaccine Preservation
The script describes the innovative yet controversial method used during the time when modern refrigeration mechanisms did not exist. The 'Royal Philanthropic Expedition' of the vaccine involved using hundreds of orphaned children as a means of preserving the vaccine. The process involved inoculating children with the vaccine fluid, waiting for pustules to form, extracting the fresh fluid from these pustules, and then inoculating another child with this fluid. This method was repeated over several months during the journey from Spain to the Americas.
🛡 The Controversial Reception of the Vaccine in Peru
Despite the successful delivery of the vaccine to Peru by the end of the 18th century, the script notes that the reception was mixed. There were fears that vaccination would bestow animal properties on humans, criticism of using children as a means of vaccine transport, concerns about side effects, and accusations that the crown was using vaccination as a pretext to monitor the population for tax collection purposes. Despite these challenges, the effort to bring the vaccine to remote parts of the Americas is recognized as a significant milestone in health history.
🌟 Jenner's Legacy and the Lifesaving Power of Vaccines
The script concludes by acknowledging Jenner as one of the most pivotal scientists in history, whose work with vaccines has saved millions of lives throughout history. The importance of vaccination in protecting children and preventing deadly diseases is emphasized, highlighting the enduring impact of Jenner's discovery.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Smallpox
💡Immunity
💡Vaccine
💡Edward Jenner
💡Cowpox
💡Inoculation
💡James Phipps
💡Philanthropic Vaccine Expedition
💡Orphaned Children
💡Controversy
💡Health Milestone
Highlights
Smallpox is considered the deadliest disease in human history, causing not only death but also leaving marks on survivors.
The impact of smallpox in Peru was devastating, arriving during the discovery and conquest when the native population had no immunity.
It is suspected that the Inca Huayna Capac died from smallpox, marking the end of the Inca era.
Smallpox has been eradicated from the planet, largely thanks to the discovery of the vaccine.
Vaccines have allowed millions of children to survive their early years.
In the mid-18th century, British rural doctor Edward Jenner noticed a popular rumor about farmers developing immunity to smallpox from cowpox.
Jenner conducted experiments to test his hypothesis about the relationship between cowpox exposure and immunity to smallpox.
Jenner inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps with a weakened dose of cowpox and later exposed him to smallpox with no signs of infection.
Jenner's experiments demonstrated that exposure to an attenuated version of a disease could generate immunity.
Jenner's results were validated, and the British crown began promoting free vaccination campaigns.
Other empires, including the Spanish crown, started to follow the British example by promoting vaccination.
In the absence of modern refrigeration, the real philanthropic vaccine expedition used hundreds of orphan children as a means of vaccine preservation.
The controversial method involved inoculating children with vaccine fluid and then extracting fresh fluid from them to inoculate others.
Despite the lack of modern amenities, this method successfully brought the vaccine to Peru by the end of the 18th century.
The reception of the vaccine was mixed, with some fearing animal properties, condemning the use of children, and fearing side effects.
Jenner is now considered one of the most transcendent scientists in history, and vaccines have saved millions of lives throughout history.
Transcripts
Hola, soy Jorge Lossio y esto es Historia de la Ciencia
Probablemente la enfermedad que más ha matado en la historia de la humanidad
ha sido la viruela. Enfermedad infecciosa y sumamente contagiosa, la viruela era
temida no solo por las muertes que causaba sino por las marcas que dejaba
entre aquellos que sobrevivían. En el caso peruano el impacto de este mal fue
devastador. Su llegada se produjo en el contexto del
descubrimiento y la conquista, cuando la población nativa no tenía ningún tipo de
inmunidad. Se sospecha que el inca Huayna Cápac murió a causa de este mal, dando
inicio al fin de la era incaica. Hoy en día la viruela no existe, es una
enfermedad que ha sido erradicada del planeta, en buena medida, gracias a una de
las innovaciones que mayor impacto ha tenido en la historia de la ciencia:
el descubrimiento de la vacuna. De hecho es gracias a las vacunas que millones de
niños y niñas sobrepasan los primeros años de vida. Hoy les voy a contar la
historia de la vacuna y la fascinante aventura que permitió su llegada al Perú.
Hacia mediados del siglo XVIII, el médico rural británico
Edward Jenner presto atención a un rumor popular, según el cual las granjeras
desarrollaban inmunidad a la viruela, intuyó una relación entre la exposición
a la viruela bovina y esta inmunidad. Como buen científico, decidió investigar
al respecto y convencido de su hipótesis se lanzó a demostrarla. Inoculó a
James Phipps, un niño de 8 años, con una dosis atenuada de la viruela bovina, luego este
niño fue expuesto a dosis mayores de la viruela humana sin mostrar ningún
síntoma de infección. Así, Jenner demostraba que la exposición a una
versión atenuada de la enfermedad generaba inmunidad a la misma.
En los meses posteriores vacunó a muchos niños y adultos más, y presentó sus resultados
a la Sociedad Médica Británica. Sus resultados fueron validados y la corona
británica empezó a promover campañas de vacunación gratuita en todo su
territorio. En los años siguientes, otros imperios decidieron imitar el ejemplo
británico, incluyendo a la corona española. Siendo una época donde no
existían los mecanismos de refrigeración actuales,
la real expedición filantrópica de la vacuna optó por un mecanismo original y
arriesgado: utilizar a cientos de niños huérfanos como medio de conservación de
la vacuna. ¿Cómo así? A los niños se les inoculaba con una lanceta el fluido
vacuno en el hombro, luego de 10 días aparecía en el niño inoculado un puñado de
granos de los cuales se extraía el fluido fresco. Este fluido recién
extraído se inoculaba en otro niño y este mismo procedimiento se repitió a lo
largo de los meses que tomó el viaje desde España a las Américas.
De esta manera poco ortodoxa y polémica, se logró hacia fines del siglo XVIII hacer llegar la
vacuna al Perú. Hay que recordar que era una época en donde no existía la
electricidad ni los mecanismos de refrigeración actuales; sin embargo, como
suele ocurrir con algunas innovaciones científicas, la recepción de la población
fue distinta a lo esperado. Se extendió la idea que se adquirían propiedades
animales al recibir la vacuna, se recriminó el uso de niños como medio de
transporte del fluido, aparecieron temores sobre los efectos
secundarios e incluso se acusó a la corona de usar la excusa de la vacuna,
para censar a la población, con el fin de cobrar impuestos. Aunque ciertamente no
todo fue perfección, este esfuerzo por llevar la vacuna a los rincones más
lejanos de las Américas constituyó uno de los hitos más notables en la historia
de la salud. Hoy en día, Jenner es considerado como uno de los científicos
más trascendentales de la historia, y las vacunas han permitido salvar millones de
vidas a lo largo del historia
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