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Edward Jenner first used material from the blisters of a milkmaid infected with cowpox virus, or vaccinia (from vacca, “cow”), to prevent smallpox in 1796. Because the last endemic case of smallpox occurred in 1977, and the last laboratory-associated case in 1978, routine smallpox vaccination has become unnecessary. Vaccination continues to be used, however, in some groups, including laboratory workers who handle cultures or animals infected with vaccinia or other orthopoxviruses, such as monkeypox, which closely resembles smallpox and against which it confers about 85% protection.
The CDC reports vaccinia infection in an unimmunized man who worked with infected mice. The man developed inflammation and pustules on his right earlobe and left …