BUBONIC PLAGUE

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BUBONIC PLAGUE

Desgenettes, chief medical officer with Napoleons Egyptian expedition, inoculates himself with bubonic plague to prove it can be successfully treated Date: 1799

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Media ID 20145937

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1799 Bubonic Chief Epidemics Napoleon Napoleons Plague Plagues Prove Successfully Treated

EDITORS COMMENTS
This striking image captures the moment when Jean-Baptiste Desgenettes, chief medical officer of Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition, performs an act of extraordinary bravery and medical innovation. In the midst of the bubonic plague outbreak that ravaged Egypt in 1799, Desgenettes sought to prove that the disease could be successfully treated through inoculation. Inoculation, a preventative measure against smallpox, was a well-known practice at the time. However, its application to the bubonic plague was a bold and risky move. Desgenettes believed that the plague was caused by a bacillus similar to that of smallpox and that inoculation could provide immunity. With great courage and determination, Desgenettes inoculated himself before his fellow soldiers and the Egyptian populace. The print shows him in the process of inoculation, with a smallpox scar on his cheek, a reminder of his previous successful inoculation against smallpox. The scene is set against the backdrop of a chaotic and fearful camp, with soldiers and civilians looking on in awe and trepidation. Desgenettes' bold move paid off. He recovered from the inoculation without complications, and the successful treatment of the bubonic plague through inoculation became a beacon of hope in the midst of the devastating outbreak. This event marked a significant turning point in the history of medicine, demonstrating the power of scientific inquiry and human resilience in the face of a deadly epidemic.

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