Dr. Edward Jenner is known as the founder of immunology. He first attempted vaccination against smallpox in 1796 by taking cowpox lesions from a dairymaid's hands and inoculating an 8-year-old boy. On May 8, 1980, the World Health Assembly announced that smallpox had been eradicated across the globe. Samples of the virus are still kept in government laboratories for research as some fear smallpox could one day be used as a bioterrorism agent.
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