El papel del Marqués de Vadillo como propagador de la vacuna en Soria (1801)

Abstract

The method for preventing smallpox developed in 1798 by Edward Jenner spread with astounding speed throughout Europe. First vaccinations in December 1800 marked the start of a practice driven by the personal initiative of distant doctors and surgeons in Spain. Setting up a spontaneous network of correspondents, recipients of the vaccine and usage information, made Ignacio María Ruiz de Luzuriaga, Secretary of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Madrid, a key figure in the method's dissemination. Such correspondence, kept on an Academy's bundle under the title Vaccine Papers, shows the relationship exchanged not only with doctors but also with members of the mainland nobility and bourgeoisie that aided to promote this practice. This study analyses the letters sent by Francisco González de Castejón, Marquis of Vadillo, initially interested in protecting his daughter from smallpox. Together with Dr. Josef Ubis, he disseminated the vaccine in the Soria province and some towns in Navarra during August and December 1801. © 2013 Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.