J. Antall szerk.: Medical history in Hungary 1972. Presented to the XXIII. International Congress of the History of Medicine / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 6. (Budapest, 1972)

I. Friedrich: The Spreading of Jenner's Vaccination in Hungary

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2 Medical History in Hungary 1972 (Comm. Hist. Artis Med. Suppl. 6.) He published his ideas in his regulation: Summa praeceptorum in administrando variolae vaccinae negotio per Regnum Hungáriáé observandum in 1829.

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0 In spite of the careful, all embracing regulations the number of inoculations decreased, especially in villages, in the 1820's and as a result of this the number of illnesses increased. ".

.. The cause of vaccination is very well and advantageously arranged in our country, only one wish has remained, that these beneficial regulations should be observed and we would not have to hear that in spite of vaccinations in this or that county the epidemic was raging once more."*

1 Superstitious prejudies and misbelies originating from ignorance, greatly contributed to the obstacles in the way of the spreading of vaccination in a satisfactory manner. In the chaos of ignorance quite often only strict laws are able to create order. "THE PREJUDICES OF THE BLURRED MINDS" Among the first vaccinators we could find Zsigmond Riegler, the chief physician of Békés County who did his best for fighting down the epidemic raging in his county in 1801. Within a half year he vaccinated 1204 children. At eleven places, where he could vaccinate without any obstacles, there were only 64 victimes of the epidemic, but in the other nine villages where the greater majority of the people put up stubborn resistance due to their superstitions, 579 people died.

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2 Some doctors tried to fight the problem with the weapon of the printed word. The literature of vaccination was enriched by another "genre", enlightening literature written for the common people in their mothertongue, which wanted to make a clean sweep of not only sanitational ignorance but it undertook the task of spiritual education, as well. What kind of unquestioning faith, what kind of century-old fanatism and new incomprehension assured the victory of death and made the doctors' work more difficult? The public with its primitive religious feelings condemned the work of the physician, saying that the person who wants to cure, interferes with the work of God. Wise Providence has given humanity men to find remedies for the illnesses and those who do not take this possibility become murderers or themselves or their fellow-men, answered Sándor Márkus in his little book

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0 Gortvay, György: A himlőoltás magyar története (The Hungarian History of Vaccination). Népeg. ügy. 1950. No. 12. p. 678. 3

1 Rakitta, Alajos: A himlőoltás története Magyarországban (The History of Vaccination in Hungary). Pest, 1846. p. 15. 3

2 Rakitta, Alajos: A himlőoltás története Magyarországban (The History of Vaccination in Hungary). Pest, 1846. p. 9.; Hainiss, Géza: A vaccinatio fejlődése Magyarországon (The Development of Vaccination in Hungary). O. H. 1896. No. 39. p. 479. 3

3 Márkus, Sándor: A tehén himlőoltás felől uralkodó előítéletek megtzáfolását magyar nyelven kiadta... (Disaproving of the Prejudices Against Smallpox Vaccination, edited in Hungarian by...). Nagyvárad, 1811.