Resumo

GALINDO SANTANA, Belkys María; BERDASQUERA CORCHO, Denis; ALFONSO BERRIO, Lázara  e  MARTINEZ SANCHEZ, Raydel. Balmis and his humanitarian contribution to eradication of smallpox. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2005, vol.31, n.3, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3127.

The world of vaccines is fascinating and they undoubtedly contribute to the well-being of the human being. Jenner will remain in the annals of history as the pioneer of vaccination since he performed the first inoculation against smallpox, being this one of the most important successes in preventive medicine, and paved the way for the future development of other vaccines. On the other hand, Balms` expedition, the continuation of Jenner`s work, is considered an extraordinary event aimed at fulfiling a humanitarian mission that greatly contributed to eradication of smallpox, taking the only form of immunization existing at that time to many countries. Given the scientific impactof this work on medical development, we made a review of the history of this expedition and presented our considerations and assessment in this respect

Palavras-chave : smallpox; expedition; vaccines; preventive medicine; history.

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