The Falconi’s needle against anti-vaccination: A minimally invasive tool in the nineteenth century
| Autor: | Marcello Trucas |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
History
invasiveness media_common.quotation_subject 030231 tropical medicine rubin 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine needle medicine Humans Smallpox 030212 general & internal medicine Smallpox vaccine media_common General Veterinary General Immunology and Microbiology Vaccination Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health History 19th Century medicine.disease Europe smallpox Infectious Diseases Italy Vaccination Campaigns Anatomical knowledge Law anti-vaccination falconi Molecular Medicine Anti vaccination Prejudice Smallpox Vaccine |
| Zdroj: | Vaccine. 38:2266-2272 |
| ISSN: | 0264-410X |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.12.063 |
| Popis: | The history of Giovanni Falconi’s career and his vaccination campaigns is two hundred years old. It is however very relevant today because of the widespread negative social opinion against vaccination at that time, opinions which seem to have re-emerged even in the current century. In his very important role of “Vaccine Conservator” (a sort of national supervisor for the quality of vaccinations), he clashed with the prejudice of the people and with the anti-scientific attitudes of some of his illustrious colleagues. He investigated how to simplify the procedure with a smallpox needle that became known as “Falconi’s Needle” or “Falconian Needle”. Falconi also made several experiments on smallpox vaccine preparation and was a supporter of the use of “animal” and “humanized” formulas despite the prejudice regarding the latter. Due to his profound anatomical knowledge and the strength of mind that characterized him, he was able to follow evidence-based scientific principles in his methods. Thanks to this he managed to convince people not to oppose vaccinations. He also succeeded in bringing the number of vaccinated people to exceed the number of newborns, a great achievement that led to remarkable progress in Italy and the rescue of thousands of lives throughout Europe. Unfortunately, it was not possible to find a copy of this instrument, which required the author to have the needle reconstructed. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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