#variolation — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #variolation, aggregated by home.social.
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Bald in schwedischen Schulen?
In Asien entwickelte man die #Variolation - die absichtliche Infektion mit Pocken.
Dabei wurde getrockneter Pockenschorf in die Nase einer Person geblasen, die sich dann eine "milde" Form der Krankheit zuzog. Nach der Genesung war die Person immun gegen Pocken.
Etwa 2-3% starben. Ohne hatten die Pocken 30% CFR.
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Origins of #inoculation #protovaccines in #china and #india
The origins of inoculation are not entirely clear, but it is believed that the practice of #variolation or the deliberate exposure to #smallpox was first developed in India or China…
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3407399/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1258/jrsm.2012.12k044
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I've noticed a really weird thing cropping up amongst people who should know better: the confusion of #vaccination and #variolation. These are *not* the same thing, even though they're forms of #inoculation.
The key insight of vaccination was that it's possible to use weakened or dead microorganisms/viruses (or toxins) to provide resistance against diseases.
Vaccination was an order of magnitude safer than variolation. That's why #Jenner (who's plenty of issues) is celebrated.
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@cstross the story of Lady Mary is well told in this episode of #Empire podcast.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/empire/id1639561921?i=1000599456439
Well worth a listen.
#smallpox #vaccination #variolation #Constantinople #Istanbul #Ottoman
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Did you know? The first attempts at immunization against #smallpox were carried out in 15th century China and consisted of blowing dried smallpox scabs (!) up people's noses.
This technique, called #variolation, was very efficient: most patients got a mild form of the disease and, upon recovery, would be immunized for life.
But it was not without risks: around 1-2% of them died, and there was the real risk of the mild form of the disease spreading and starting an epidemic. -
CW: variolation and vaccination history, smallpox
@ljwrites I've learned of #variolation through this #ExtraHistory video: History of Vaccines - Killing Smallpox - Extra History, but it focused more on Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's efforts to promote it in England. It glosses over the origins by stating only:
"who witnessed the procedure in the Ottoman Empire, where her husband was serving as the British ambassador while Europeans had heard of the practice, Lady Mary became an advocate for bringing the procedure to England"
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CW: variolation and vaccination history, smallpox
@ljwrites I've learned of #variolation through this #ExtraHistory video: History of Vaccines - Killing Smallpox - Extra History, but it focused more on Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's efforts to promote it in England. It glosses over the origins by stating only:
"who witnessed the procedure in the Ottoman Empire, where her husband was serving as the British ambassador while Europeans had heard of the practice, Lady Mary became an advocate for bringing the procedure to England"