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History of Vaccines
Evolution of Vaccines: The first vaccines were created by English physician Edward Jenner. Jenner observed that milkmaids stricken with a viral disease called cowpox were rarely victims of a similar disease, smallpox. This led Jenner to develop the first vaccine. Jenner took a few drops of fluid from a pustule of a woman who had cowpox and injected the fluid into a healthy young boy who had never had cowpox or smallpox. Six weeks later, Jenner injected the boy with fluid from a smallpox pustule, but the boy remained free of the dreaded smallpox.
Since then, more than 20 infectious diseases. These include, among others, the Tetanus Toxoid, Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis, Measles-Mumps-Rubella, Rubella, Measles, Polio, Hepatitis B , Hepatitis A, Hemophilus influenzae type b,Varicella ("Chicken Pox"), Rotavirus, Pneumococcal ("Pneumonia"), Trivalent ("Adult Flu").
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Different Types of Vaccines: There are a number of different types of vaccines, including:
● Weakened Microbes
● Killed Microbes
● Inactivated Toxins
● Subunit Vaccines
● Conjugate Vaccines
● Edible Vaccines
These vaccines vary by how they are made and what they contain. Some vaccines include the actual microbe or virus, but one that has been killed. Others include toxins that have been made "safe".
The Future: Genome Sequencing will allow us to design even better vaccines. Many projects are under way to sequence the genetic instructions, or genomes, of disease-causing microbes. NIH-supported researchers have reported the complete genomic sequence of several microbes including, including group A streptococcous tuberculosis, and of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. New genomic sequence data provide important insights into the components of these organisms that might be incorporated into candidate vaccines.
