From the history of smallpox vaccination in the Irkutsk province during the Imperial period: features of the activities of smallpox students

The beginning of the smallpox control in Russia at the state level is considered to be in 1768, when Empress Catherine II invited the famous British doctor Thomas Dimmesdale to St. Petersburg to "inoculate smallpox" by the variolation method. The progressive endeavors of the Empress did not leave indifferent the authorities of Irkutsk province. In 1772 a smallpox house was opened in Irkutsk, and the Irkutsk governor, Adam Ivanovich Brill, committed the act of publicly inoculating his children with smallpox in order to influence the "native population". Since 1805, the Russian Empire started to form the priority direction of smallpox vaccination by law. All civilian medical officials, midwives, and even military doctors were obliged to participate personally in smallpox inoculation. Smallpox inoculation was carried out free of charge. Since 1808, the task of mass smallpox inoculation of the indigenous population was legally formalized. In 1811, with the emergence of the Smallpox Committees, the formation of the primary level social group - smallpox students - began. Their activity at the initial stage was considered by the authorities as the only effective means, which was justified in the conditions of total shortage of medical personnel in Irkutsk province. But over time, illiterate and with vague ideas about the essence of vaccination, smallpox sufferers had become a public health hazard. The article analyses the activity of smallpox students in Irkutsk province on the basis of archival sources, which were first introduced into scientific circulation. The authors comprehensively reveal the mechanisms of recruiting smallpox students for training, describe the documentary support of smallpox prevention work, provide data on the qualitative and quantitative composition of smallpox students in the province, analyze their remuneration, and give examples of the population's attitude to their activities. A unique component of this research publication is the input of personalized data on smallpox students. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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