Smallpox Vaccine
Item
Title
Smallpox Vaccine
Description
Today’s most widely used vaccine for smallpox is a strain of the vaccinia virus, a poxvirus related to smallpox, but less harmful. The vaccine is administered using a two-pronged (bifurcated) needle that is dipped in the vaccine solution and then used to prick a small section of the skin multiple times in a few seconds. Thanks to the widespread vaccination starting in the 1850s, the WHO was able to declare smallpox eradicated in 1980.
Identifier
4.12.2d.4
Rights
Donated by Peter Iwen, PhD, director of the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives