MUSEUM BLOG
From Variolation to Cowpox Vaccination: The First Steps Towards Eradicating Smallpox
Edward Jenner looms large in the history of vaccination. Known today as the “father of immunology,” Jenner is most famous for developing a vaccine against smallpox in the 1790s. The vaccine brilliantly made use of common knowledge. Milkmaids were known for having noticeably clear and smooth skin. They had, it seemed, managed to develop an immunity to smallpox by suffering (and surviving) a bout of the much milder cowpox.
A Fighting Chance: Disease, Public Health, and the Military, Part 3
From a medical point of view the two military campaigns to capture the Dutch island of Walcheren – the first in 1809, the second in 1944 – could not have been more different. The 1809 British expedition was ravaged by disease, a lethal combination of malaria, typhus, typhoid fever, and dysentery that infected over 60% of the force, killed over 4,000 soldiers, and left tens of thousands as casualties.
A Fighting Chance: Disease, Public Health, and the Military, Part 2
Two of the most remarkable stories in military medical history happened in the exact same place: Walcheren, a strip of land that sits like a cork in the mouth of the Scheldt River running through the Netherlands and Belgium.
Reflections on Friendly Fire
Friendly Fire is a project developed by the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in collaboration with the Museum of Health Care engaging the power of the artist as a story teller and synthesizer. The artist, Howie Tsui investigated health and medicine during the war of 1812. The resulting exhibition illuminates the brutal conditions of the body in war and the medical techniques of the period.
Raising Awareness about Tuberculosis – World TB Day, 24 March 2012 Pt. 2
Many people in the West have never thought about tuberculosis as a risk to their health. Tuberculosis is often considered to be a disease of the past. In other locations around the world tuberculosis is a dangerous epidemic that affects thousands of people and their communities. 1.7 million people died from TB in 2009.
Raising Awareness about Tuberculosis – World TB Day, 24 March 2012 Pt. 1
Tuberculosis is caused by an infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, rod-shaped bacteria that are spread mostly through air-born droplets or dust micro-particles of dried sputum.Those who develop active pulmonary tuberculosis experience a range of signs and symptoms, including chest pain, cough, weight loss, pallor, fever, and night sweats.
History of Health Care: Transformation of the Hospital
The Main Building of the Kingston Hospital was built between 1833 and 1835, however due to lack of operating funds did not open until 1845, with incorporation in 1849 when a lay board was appointed.
History of Health Care: Quarantine and Isolation
Before the nineteenth century, quarantine and isolation had been practiced in an effort to protect the community from contagious diseases such as plague and smallpox in the absence of specific treatment. Such diseases were considered contagious even though the cause and method of transmission were not known.
History of Health Care: Vaccination
Vaccination as a deliberate attempt to protect humans against disease has a short history. In spite of this, vaccination has had a major effect on the reduction of mortality and length of life.