Chapter 50, Problem 4IQ

Summary Introduction

To describe: How the elimination of smallpox virus with the help of a vaccine was possible but not the elimination of influenza.

Introduction: The smallpox disease, caused by the variola virus, was a fatal disease common in the earlier centuries. Edward Jenner proposed the thought that cowpox infection could provide immunity against smallpox. His procedure of infecting a known harmless substance to confer immunity to a rather lethal infection is referred to as vaccination. However, several pathogens modify their surface antigens to prevent detection by the immune system.