UNSUNG HERO – EDWARD JENNER
The only living planet, Earth, is home to millions of living organisms and each one of them contributes individually to the environment and are intertwined in a delicate balance for their survival. From tiny microbes present in the extreme conditions to the largest mammals like the blue whale, plays a crucial role in the ecosystem. It is necessary to study these living organisms to uncover the mystery of our own existence and the very basis of the phenomenon of life. It is important to understand what makes our planet so vibrant with different living creatures with different life cycles and different lifetime. Life Science research is the beacon of hope for unravelling the secrets of this complex tapestry of life.
It not only studies the intricate structures of the smallest segments of mortals but also sparks the medical breakthrough to increase their lifespan and further save millions of lives from deadly diseases. It combats the environmental crises with sustainable solutions and further revolutionizes the agriculture sector to increase produce and feed such vast population.
One of the fundamental fields in research is Vaccine production, which has not only revolutionized the healthcare industry but also paved the way for future experimentation. Vaccine is a biological preparation which constitutes a minute number of microbes which would trigger the immune system to recognize and produce antibodies to combat the pathogens. This helps in strengthening the body’s immunity and lead to the eradication of some of the deadliest diseases to exist, like small pox which was responsible for killing millions of people along with many suffering with lifelong rashes and scars. It has also nearly eliminated Polio with early vaccination campaign for children which has saved innumerable children’s health thereby boosting their chances of having a normal life. The development in vaccine involves intricate research, from understanding the microbe’s physiology to its interaction with human’s antibodies.
COVID – 19 was a wave of global terror and disruption which was caused by something we couldn’t even see, so minute yet so powerful, to ruin the species which is naturally selected by the environment and is present on the top of the food chain and the most intelligent of them all. It took around 4 years, in this age of advanced research to fight a virus. 755 million COVID cases with different strains arising every now and then, if the idea of vaccine wasn’t supposed to exist, the outcome would have been worse. It’s all thanks to the idea of variolation and the man behind the formation of the first vaccine – Edward Jenner. A keen Englishman born in 1749 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England was a good observer and him pondering over a nested cuckoo led him to get elected by the Royal Society. It was because he noted a folklore of how milkmaids suffering from Cowpox won’t suffer from smallpox.
In Jenner’s time, small pox was considered a deadly disease with a high mortality rate. Because of his observations on the folklore, he led to an experiment to test his hypothesis that people who had cowpox won’t suffer from smallpox which was by no means, ethical, but it laid out the foundation of vaccine production. He took a sample fluid of cowpox from a milkmaid called Sarah Nelmes and inoculated it into the arm of an eight-year-old James Phipps. He developed a mild case of cowpox but recovered quickly. Later Phipps was exposed to smallpox and to everyone’s surprise, he didn’t get any symptoms thereby confirming Jenner’s hypothesis. He published his findings in 1798 in a pamphlet titled “An Inquiry into The Causes and Effects of The Variole Vaccinae”. The term ‘vaccination’ was taken from ‘vacca’ which meant ‘cow’. Due to his risky experiment, he did receive criticism and resistance but gained widespread acceptance as the vaccination method was safer and more effective than the variolation. Even in modern day experiments, the vaccines are conducted on humans in the last stage. Though they are considered to be safe, 226 years back, such practices weren’t possible due to lack of research. It was impossible to test this theory without practically conducting it.
Though Jenner’s work wasn’t received well in his own country, other nations praised him for his efforts. The king of Spain sent an expedition to spread smallpox vaccination across the other Spanish colonies. Even Napoleon showed respect to Jenner for his humane achievements. Not only did he got his grand army vaccinated, but he also released the English prisoners upon the doctor’s request. He had many honours and achievements in his lifetime. Six months after being awarded the Freedom of Edinburgh Award, he was also granted the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 1804. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1806, and he was awarded an honorary LLD by Harvard University in 1803. Yet another honour came to Jenner when he was awarded an honorary MD by Oxford University in 1813.
Although angina had long been familiar to doctors, Jenner was one of the first to link it to hardening and blockage of the coronary arteries. While conducting an autopsy on the heart of a cadaver, he found the coronary artery to be as hard as a bone. His discovery made him one of the first to link angina pectoris to coronary artery disease, a connection which was not acknowledged for a 100 years by the medical world.
Edward Jenner influenced many other researchers in the field of immunology like Louis Pasteur, a great figure in the field who further developed the vaccination for anthrax and fowl cholera. Edward Jenner was called the ‘Father of Immunology’ for his contribution. Since Nobel Prize was developed in 1901, he never received a Nobel Prize. Jenner’s studies were done over 2 centuries and since then his legacy has died down and no more mentioned in the list of honoured scientists. Along with the eradication of small pox, Jenner’s name gradually slipped from the public’s subconsciousness. The widespread acknowledgement of Jenner as a medical pioneer has waned, leaving his remarkable legacy less celebrated than it was once.
Edward Jenner’s work teaches us valuable moral lessons about patience, compassion, and scientific integrity. His courage to cure smallpox was motivated only by his love for humanity. He gave free vaccinations to the poor and infirm. His meticulous approach to research and willingness to openly communicate his findings reflect his spirit of cooperation and his commitment to the advancement of human knowledge. His dedication, passion and compassion teach us that even in the face of doubt and opposition , it can lead to transformational success.
By: Aliza Quaisar
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