Dec 2, 2022
Almost by accident, Edward Jenner and others stumbled on the apparent resistance to smallpox clearly evident in milkmaids previously infected with cowpox. Not knowing why, they clumsily stumbled on what is still one of the most important medical discoveries of all time. Smallpox with its 30% mortality is estimated to have claimed some 500,000,000 lives globally throughout history. Given that today Ebola Zaire carries a 90% mortality, there was probably as much resistance to smallpox vaccination as that for Ebola. Vaccine hesitancy has always been an issue. In the current Ebola Sudan outbreak in Uganda, it was recently reported that families denying the Ebola diagnosis were digging up their properly buried relatives in order to follow local social custom.#stickypbModal625{ position : relative; z-index : 30; margin:0px px; padding: 9px; background: rgba(0,0,0,0.0);} @media only screen and (max-width: 1024px) {#stickypbModal625 { flex-wrap: wrap;}} Skepticism is not just rampant in medici