Life-saving vaccines
HUMANITY was plagued by smallpox for centuries. Ancient texts from India and China describe this terrifying disease. Pockmarks have also been found on the mummies of Ancient Egyptian pharaohs such as Ramesses V, who lived more than 3 000 years ago.
We no longer have to fear smallpox thanks to the discoveries of English scientist Edward Jenner (1749-1823), who made a vaccine against smallpox possible. Further developments led to vaccines against several other diseases too.
against smallpox, thousands of people died.
In Europe the disease killed about 400 000 people a year throughout the 18th century and about a third of survivors were left blind.
In too, smallpox wreaked havoc. There were in 1713, 1755 and 1767, and the were especially hard hit because they had to the virus. In about a of smallpox. Relief eventually came in the form of vaccinations. By, about of the citizens at the Cape could be against smallpox. But there were in 1840, 1858 and 1882-1883.
