19 Questions
What percentage of the population would contract smallpox during epidemics?
50 to 60%
What percentage of children under five years old died from smallpox in Berlin?
98%
What was the method of spread for smallpox?
Through the air
What was the method of variolation?
Placing pus from a smallpox blister under the skin
What did Edward Jenner call his prevention method, and why?
Vaccine, from the Latin for 'cow'
Why did the British Medical Association initially refuse to publish Edward Jenner's findings?
They were afraid to lose their livelihoods as variolators
In what year did the global campaign to eradicate smallpox begin?
1967
What led to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu observing variolation in Turkey?
Her husband's appointment as ambassador to Turkey
Why did variolation have a higher success rate compared to natural smallpox infection?
It entered the body through the skin rather than through the lungs
What was a significant outcome of Edward Jenner's scientific experiments with children?
He demonstrated that children could be immune to both cowpox and smallpox
What was the main cause of childbed fever in the First Division of the hospital?
Disease carried by doctors from dissecting cadavers
Why did women prefer to give birth in the streets rather than be sent to the First Division of the hospital?
They were afraid of catching infections from the doctors in the First Division.
What was the immediate effect of implementing hand washing with chlorinated limewater for doctors?
The mortality rate lowered from 18% to less than 2%.
What differentiated the practice of doctors from midwives in preventing childbed fever?
Midwives were not allowed to perform dissections like doctors, preventing them from carrying disease to mothers.
What was the main reason for the rejection of Ignaz Semmelweis's theories by medical authorities of the time?
They believed in the theory of 'basic humors' causing disease.
Why did Semmelweis's ideas face rejection despite having empirical data on his side?
He lacked a theoretical explanation to support his empirical data.
What was the outcome of Semmelweis's book, which he wrote in 1861?
It received poor reviews and criticism from his opponents.
Why did doctors refuse to accept Semmelweis's idea that childbed fever was transmitted from one person to another?
They believed that childbed fever was caused by an imbalance in 'basic humors'.
Why did Semmelweis face opposition from doctors for his radical ideas about disease transmission?
Doctors were reluctant to accept that their practices were responsible for causing deaths.
Explore the history and impact of smallpox epidemics, which killed millions of people and had devastating effects on native populations in the Americas. Learn about the spread of the disease and its deadly consequences.
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