Palla Ákos szerk.: Az Országos Orvostörténeti Könyvtár közleményei 20. (Budapest, 1961)

dr. Gál Lajos: Himlőellenes védőoltás Magyarországon 1802-ben

us that in former times smallpox wrought havoc during all those periods when vaccination was temporarily suspended. In one of our old registers darkened by age, we find Mihály Major's account of his work in this field, written in the quaint prose of his time but in a very delectable personal style. The following are quotations from Major's records. „On these pages I want to register the names of those children who were vaccinated in this parish with the cow-vaccine discovered by the English Doctor Mr. Jenner, in the hope that on the strenght of former experiences these children shall be able toavoid smallpox, this veritable plague of youth. 1. March 16, 1802. Rosalie, the not yet one year old daughter of the engineer Mr. Gábor Major was vaccinated by Doctor Sámuel Szombati. By luck the little girl fell sick at home and was the first to import the seed of the disease into our community. Mr. Gábor Major having observed the procedure of the operation in Pest, wanted to vaccinate his other children as well from little Rosalie who had been already inoculated. Ke was, however, compelled to leave again almost as soon as he returned home, on an official errand, and could not, therefore, wait till the smallpox was quite developed in little Rosalie and neither was he able to return home soon. Meanwhile he was anxious that the rest of his own children as well as all the children of the community should have the benefit of the smallpox-seed for vaccination as long as this was available. In a letter to his wife he asked me, his brother, to read the tract written by Doctor Joan de Carro of Vienna and to ask from that young lady further details as she had been present at the operation performed by Doctor Szombati, and after having done this to do him the brotherly service to inoculate first one, and from her the other of his little girls who were likely to get the sickness. Thus I was theoretically quite well instructed but had, of course, no practical experience whatsoever, having never even seen an operation. I had many misgivings and greatly feared that, from my fault, this beneficial seed might give out inour community. Still, I vaccinated 2. on March 30, 1802, Susanna, the 4-years-old little girl of my brother Gábor Major from Rosalie's smallpox; from her