University of Siena, Siena, Italy; University Museum System of Siena, Siena, Italy.
University of Genoa, Department of Health Science, Genoa, Italy; UNESCO CHAIR "Anthropology of Health - Biosphere and Healing System" University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; Stop TB Italia Onlus, Milan, Italy.
Infez Med. 2020 Dec 1;28(4):634-641.
Smallpox is a contagious viral disease. In the fight against smallpox, stimulation of the immune system by means of inoculation of human smallpox and subsequent vaccination constituted a very important step forward in the history of medicine. First reported in ancient Greece and in the Egypt of the Pharaohs, smallpox reappeared in the middle of the 16th century, becoming the leading endemic disease in the following century and periodically causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Europe was afflicted by numerous epidemics. While their consequences in large urban centres are well known, we know little about the diffusion, morbidity and mortality of the disease in rural areas. To shed light on this issue, we scrutinised the main initial experiences of the use of inoculation in Siena and the scientific, healthcare, social and political consequences that stemmed from them.
天花是一种传染性病毒疾病。在对抗天花的过程中，通过接种人类天花并随后进行疫苗接种来刺激免疫系统，这是医学史上非常重要的一步。天花最早在古希腊和法老统治下的古埃及被报道，它在 16 世纪中期再次出现，成为接下来一个世纪的主要地方病，并定期导致数十万人死亡。在 18 世纪和 19 世纪，欧洲多次爆发天花疫情。虽然我们对大城市中心的疫情后果有一定的了解，但对于农村地区的疫情传播、发病率和死亡率知之甚少。为了阐明这个问题，我们仔细研究了在锡耶纳使用接种的主要初始经验，以及由此产生的科学、医疗保健、社会和政治后果。
