CJIDMM Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases 1180-2332 Pulsus Group Inc 390190 10.1155/1998/390190 Special Article In Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of Edward Jenner’s Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae Brunham Robert C robert_brunham@umanitoba.ca Coombs Kevin M Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases University of Manitoba Winnipeg Manitoba Canada umanitoba.ca 1998 9 5 310 313 16 1 1998 9 2 1998 1998 Copyright © 1998 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. This open-access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (CC BY-NC) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits reuse, distribution and reproduction of the article, provided that the original work is properly cited and the reuse is restricted to noncommercial purposes.

This review commemorates the 200th anniversary of Edward Jenner’s development of a vaccine for variola, the cause of smallpox, and the 20th anniversary of its eradication. Jenner’s original 23 case reports are briefly revisited within the context of earlier attempts to prevent this dreaded disease and in light of the current understanding of vaccinology and immunology. In addition, with molecular biological information available about many pox viruses and detailed sequence knowledge of some, it is now possible to appreciate Jenner’s prescient accomplishments more fully.

Edward Jenner Pox viruses Smallpox virus Variolla Vaccination