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Introduction
The purpose of my interactive timeline exhibit is to explore how public perceptions of illness and vaccine at the turn of the 19th century, centered around the smallpox disease and vaccine, differed than when the World Health Organization announced the eradication of the illness in 1980? The artifacts I have chosen to display throughout my timeline both directly and indirectly display how the public could have wavering opinions about smallpox and vaccinations. -
Basic information on smallpox.
The smallpox disease is a serious infectious disease caused by the variola virus. The disease is very contagious and presents itself to the host as a fever and progressive skin rash. -
The History of Smallpox.
The origin of smallpox is unknown but scientists have found smallpox like rashes on mummies which could suggest that the virus existed 3,000 years ago. -
Smallpox Outbreak
The more "modern" (and last) outbreak of smallpox occurred during the 1700s. The disease was so bad during this time that it killed about 400,000 Europeans each year. Between 20%-60% of infected adults, and over 80% of infected children died because of having smallpox. -
History of 18th Century Smallpox & Vaccination
After the disease ravaged countries for years the basis of vaccination began in 1796 by an English doctor named Edward Jenner. -
Artifact 1: Cowpox Lesion
This artifact is a piece of art that depicts a cowpox lesion on a milkmaid’s hand. In 1796 Edward Jenner scraped the puss off of the hand of Sarah Nelmes. She was a milkmaid who had been infected with cowpox. Jenner took the puss and used it to inoculate the arm of a young boy. The boy had a short bout of cowpox but then was found immune to smallpox. This marked the world’s first vaccination. -
How the vaccine was created.
Edward Jenner discovered that milkmaids who had been infected with cowpox were immune to smallpox. Dr. Jenner took the material from a cowpox lesion and injected it into the body of a 9 year old boy. Jenner then exposed the boy to the smallpox virus several times over the next few months. As a result the boy never developed the illness. This began the official development of the vaccine. -
Reactions to the Vaccine
In the 1850s the government passed laws that made getting vaccinations against smallpox compulsory. Some people of the public and the healthcare professionals accepted the vaccine, some rejected it. -
Public Opinions
Some people of the public claimed vaccinations were unsafe and unnecessary. Others said that compulsory vaccinations were government interference. -
Artifact 2: Vaccination Tool
This image depicts John Zirbes' Vaccinator Patent Model from 1872. During the mid 19th century, states began to mandate the smallpox vaccine for school children. Because of this, instrument makers began to create tools to help administer the vaccine, such as this one. Many of the instruments created used a trigger mechanism where the healthcare provider would pull the trigger releasing the vaccination and the needle into the patient's arm. -
Anti-Vaccination Support
The growing support for anti-vaccinations reached its peak in the 1890s with the National Anti-Vaccination League. This group organized protests and preached vaccination propaganda. The anti-vaccination movements caused the government to decide to let people opt out of getting vaccinated. -
Artifact 3: Letter From Ruth to Her Family
This artifact is a letter that Ruth Sturley wrote to her family on March 25, 1920. She writes her family to tell them that she isn’t in school because cases of smallpox are in their midst. She explains that her friend Charlie’s father is rumored to have smallpox but the doctors don’t know for sure because it’s commonly confused with measles. The letter explains different ways Ruth believes Charlie's father could have gotten smallpox and the different ways it could have spread. -
Public Opinion Analyzed
It seems to me that the public was unsure and nervous about getting vaccines because of the fact that it was so new. I think that because of the fact that vaccines were such an uncharted territory at the time that people didn't trust the intentions of the government. Because vaccines weren't mainstream at the time, people were skeptical. People created propaganda and rumors to grapple at any reason to encourage people to not to get the shot. -
Public Opinion Analyzed pt. 2
Ruby writes in her letter that she doesn't think that doctors knew what they were looking for. She believed that doctors had been miss-diagnosing people. I could also see how people were intimidated by the vaccination tool and not want to get vaccinated and didn't trust the government. It was something that they have never seen before which is why they were so skeptical. -
Eradicated Disease in 1980
Smallpox is the only infectious disease to ever be eradicated. The World Health Organization would show people pictures of infected people with the undeniable skin rash in order to track down infected people.The government gave vaccines not only to people who had been infected but they were giving them to people who were in close contact or at risk as well.To this day smallpox is one of the only infectious diseases to be eradicated. -
Public Opinion Post Eradication
The smallpox vaccine was one of the first widely mandated and accepted vaccines. To this day smallpox is one of the only eradicated infectious diseases. After the eradication people were more widely accepting of vaccination because they could see that it had worked. People began to trust the government and healthcare professionals more on the basis of disease and vaccination because the smallpox vaccine had proven to be very effective. -
Bibliography 1
“Digital Collections.” Ruth Sturley to family, Mar. 25, 1920 | Digital Collections. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://digital.lib.utk.edu/collections/islandora/object/sturley%3A374/transcript. “Eradicating Smallpox.” Smithsonian Institution. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.si.edu/spotlight/antibody-initiative/smallpox. -
Bibliography 2
“History of Smallpox.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, February 20, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html. The National Archives. “Victorian Health Reform.” The National Archives. The National Archives, October 28, 2019. https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/victorian-health-reform/. -
Bibliography 3
Nature News. Nature Publishing Group. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/viruses101/smallpox_the_most_talked_about/. Warshanna-Sparklin, Salma, and JH Bloomberg School of Public Health. “The Art of Smallpox.” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, February 17, 2015. https://magazine.jhsph.edu/2015/spring/departments/collections-the-art-of-smallpox/.