Vaccination’s Forgotten Origins Patrick J. Pead, MSc, FIBMS, FHA The histories of pediatrics and physicians and apothecaries vaccinology are linked, for most personally, and he understood primary attempts at vaccinating the risks of variolation. Jesty had against smallpox during the experienced cowpox first-hand 18th century involved children. as an occupational disease in Today, of course, vaccinations his youth. He was aware of the form a universal and essential folklore of cowpox and discussed part of preventative medicine its apparent protective effects for the very young. Commonly with his dairymaids, Elizabeth hailed as a “discovery” or a Notley and Mary Reade. 9 Both “medical breakthrough, ” the first women had acquired cowpox vaccinations against smallpox with during their work and later nursed cowpox were really a development relatives afflicted with smallpox from variolation (inoculation without contracting the disease with smallpox itself), a technique themselves. popularized among the English gentry as “The Inoculation” in the Faced with a local outbreak of early 1700s by Lady Mary Wortley smallpox in 1774, Jesty devised Montagu. The later introduction the idea of inoculating his family of cowpox avoided potential with cowpox as a safer alternative hazards of variolation, which to the conventional variolation sometimes resulted in death or method. To achieve this goal, he the transmission of smallpox into took his family to the hamlet of areas where it was previously Chetnole (at 3.7 km distant), where absent. he had heard there were cows with symptoms of cowpox. Jesty The story that Dr Edward Jenner transferred material from lesions was the first to vaccinate in 1796 on the cows’ teats to the skin of the Department of Molecular Microbiology, School of Medicine, University is one of the best-known medical arms of his 3 subjects by insertion of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom myths, 1, 2 yet this misinformation with a stocking needle. This act DOI: 10.1542/peds.2016-2833 is still presented in the media occurred 22 years before Jenner’s Accepted for publication Oct 28, 2016 and most popular history books. vaccination of James Phipps. Jenner was preceded nearly one- Address correspondence to Patrick J. Pead, MSc, FIBMS, FHA, quarter of a century before by the The story of Jesty’s endeavor 34 Barker Close, Fishbourne, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 Dorset farmer Benjamin Jesty, emerged when Elizabeth’s arm 8BJ UK. E-mail: [email protected] who vaccinated his wife Elizabeth, became inflamed at the site of PEDIATRICS (ISSN Numbers: Print, 0031-4005; Online, 1098- along with his 2 sons, Robert (age vaccination. Dr Trowbridge and 4275). 3 years) and Benjamin (age 2 Mr Meech from nearby Cerne Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics years), in the spring of 1774. 3 – 8 Abbas were called, and Jesty was FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: Publishing might result in limited Jesty was born in the village of obliged to tell them what he had sales of the author’s recent book. Yetminster, Dorset, England. He done. Elizabeth recovered quickly, FUNDING: No external funding. became a dairy farmer and was a but the news soon spread among POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The author has indicated member of the Yetminster Vestry. neighboring medical and clerical he has no potential confl icts of interest to disclose. His duties included arranging fraternities. Jesty was reviled by for health care of the poor. He the locals, who subjected him to To cite: Pead PJ. Vaccination’s Forgotten Origins. Pediatrics. 2017;139(4):e20162833 would have known the local verbal and sometimes physical Downloaded from www.aappublications.org/news by guest on September 24, 2021 PEDIATRICS Volume 139 , number 4 , April 2017 :e 20162833 MONTHLY FEATURE abuse when he attended markets. devise and perform the procedure of an application from Jenner to Cattle markets were held regularly vaccination in 1774. 18 proceed with his project. 23 Jenner’s in Dorset at Sherborne, Blandford, submission includes the argument In reviewing the pre-1796 cowpox Shaftesbury, and Dorchester; that it was more likely that children activity in Dorset, it is pertinent to these venues afforded an effective would not have had smallpox or consider 2 questions. Did Edward means of transmission of gossip. cowpox previously, factors that Jenner have medical contacts in Correspondence uncovered by the would have affected his results. He that county before he vaccinated author’s archival research indicates defends his intention to challenge Phipps? He did. Second, was he that knowledge of Jesty spread over some of his young subjects with given confidence to proceed with his a significant area of the south of smallpox by stating that he would experiment by knowledge of Jesty England. This extraordinary event have offered them variolation after years of hesitation? Although was validated and chronicled by anyway in the normal course of his Jenner made no mention of Jesty in sources in Dorset, including letters work. his writing, 19 it should be noted that from William Dolling, the Reverend he rarely gave credit to the work The objective of this author’s Hermann Drew, and the noted of predecessors. These included investigations is not to denigrate physician Dr Richard Pulteney. 10 his friend John Fewster, who had Jenner’s achievements but to seek Direct evidence was recorded by discussed cowpox with Jenner at increased recognition for Jesty and the Reverend Andrew Bell, 9 who length. Fewster must have influenced to challenge misconceptions that interviewed Jesty at Swanage, and Jenner, rather than the dairymaid persist in the history of the origins of again later by the officers of The fable created by Jenner’s biographer vaccination. When Sir Francis Darwin Original Vaccine Pock Institution 11 John Baron, 20 which has now been said during his Galton Lecture that in London. Jesty permitted his sons discounted. 21 After Jenner’s death, “in science the credit goes to the to be challenged with smallpox much of his correspondence was man who convinces the world, not to by variolation in 1789 (Robert burned without permission by Sir whom the idea first occurs, ” he was and Benjamin) and again in 1805 Everard Home, but recent scrutiny voicing an observation, not creating (Robert). They were shown to be of associated communications a precedent. The author’s opinion is unaffected. All 3 recipients of his with practitioners in Dorset that Jenner is rightly celebrated as vaccinations lived into old age indicates ways that he could have the person who brought vaccination and were repeatedly exposed to had knowledge of Jesty. 18 In 1807, to the world, but the intellectual outbreaks of smallpox without harm. Jenner had published a sevenfold property for this process rests Jesty received some recognition from classification of the human intellect, firmly in the ownership of Benjamin the Original Vaccine Pock Institution and it is clear from his “fair summary Jesty. Whether Edward Jenner had but never from the Jennerian Society of the common eighteenth century knowledge of Jesty before vaccinating or the Royal Society. wisdom on mental attitudes” that, Phipps cannot be confirmed believing himself descended from absolutely, but recent investigations Was Jesty really the first vaccinator? gentry (Baron Kenelem Jenour), he suggest his work did not take place in Some names mentioned in the would never have acknowledged a a vacuum. 18 The world will be forever historical record before Jesty were tenant farmer from the “middling grateful that he took the risk. associated with descriptions of sort” class as having the intelligence the protective effects of naturally Those wishing to probe this topic to conceive and perform a acquired cowpox and must be further are invited to visit www. vaccination procedure.22 excluded. 12 – 14 Similarly, claims from benjaminjesty. com. other English “cowpoxers” cannot be Clearly, Jesty’s motivation stemmed verified by independent sources. 15 from a desire to protect his A number of invalid claims were immediate family. Unlike Jenner, he REFERENCES sent to Dr George Pearson during had no means of formally publishing 1. Gross CP, Sepkowitz KA. The myth of 1802, when a House of Commons news of his vaccinations. Jenner the medical breakthrough: smallpox, Committee debated financial rewards experimented on 7 children of other vaccination, and Jenner reconsidered. for Jenner.16, 17 However, there was parentage before vaccinating his Int J Infect Dis. 1998;3(1):54–60 significant interest in cowpox in own son. Informed consent was 2. Horton R. Myths in medicine. Jenner the county of Dorset before Jenner, not a consideration at that time, did not discover vaccination. BMJ. and from examination of archived but in 2007, Davies constructed 1995;310(6971):62 correspondence, it would seem a hypothetical meeting of a 3. Wallace M. The First Vaccinator. appropriate to recognize Jesty’s 1795 “Berkeley Local Research Wareham and Swanage: Anglebury- priority as the first in the world to Ethics Committee” to consider Bartlett; 1981 Downloaded from www.aappublications.org/news by guest on September 24, 2021 2 PEAD 4. McCrae T. Benjamin Jesty: a pre- the Contravening Evidence. London, of the Committee of the House of Jennerian vaccinator. Johns Hopkins England: John Murray; 1805 Commons. 2nd ed. Bath, England: Hosp Bull. 1900;11:42–44 11. Pearson G, et al. Report of the Original Richard Cruttwell; 1805 5. Haviland A. The proto-martyr to Vaccine Pock Institution. Edin Med 17. Crookshank EM. History and Pathology vaccination. Lancet. 1862;2:291 Surg J. 1805;1(4):513–514 of Vaccination. London, England: HK Lewis; 1889 6. Gould GM. Medical discoveries by the 12. Thacher SC, Adams DP, Emerson W. P non-medical. JAMA. 1903;40:1477 refer to Salger’s ‘De lue Vaccarum’ 18. Pead PJ. Benjamin Jesty: Grandfather (printed 1713). In: Monthly Anthology of Vaccination.