Real Expedición Filantrópica de la Vacuna

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Route of the Royal Philanthropic Vaccination Expedition
Route of the Royal Philanthropic Vaccination Expedition
The corvette María Pita leaving the Royal Philanthropic Vaccination Expedition from La Coruña
The corvette María Pita leaving the expedition from La Coruña

The Real Expedición Filantrópica de la Vacuna ( Royal Philanthropic Vaccination Expedition ), also known as the Balmis Expedition , was a three-year mission under the direction of Francisco Javier de Balmis from 1803 to 1806 to Latin America and Asia . Its aim was to introduce a new method of vaccination against smallpox developed by the English doctor Edward Jenner in 1798 into the Spanish colonies and to vaccinate people as well as to initiate sustainable vaccination campaigns on site. It can be seen as the first international health expedition and mass vaccination in history.

Since the Spanish conquest of the New World, smallpox had spread particularly among the indigenous population and, not least, caused economic disadvantages for the colonial rulers.

Memorial to the Royal Philanthropic Vaccination Expedition in La Coruña
Memorial to the Royal Philanthropic Vaccination Expedition in La Coruña
Memorial plaque in the port of La Coruña, donated by Mexican doctors
Memorial plaque in the port of La Coruña

In response to a major smallpox outbreak in the Spanish colonies, King Charles IV of Spain , whose daughter, Infanta Maria Teresa had died of the disease, supported and financed his court doctor Balmis and financed the expedition. She set out on the María Pita from La Coruña on November 30, 1803 and transported 22 orphan boys between the ages of 8 and 10 who had not previously had smallpox. In the absence of other methods of preservation, the children served as carriers of the live vaccine ; every 9 or 10 days it was passed from arm to arm of two children to two others. In addition to Balmis, a deputy surgeon, two assistants, two first aid practitioners, three nurses and Isabel Zendal Gómez , the principal of the orphanage in La Coruña, took part. The ship also carried scientific instruments and translations of the "Historical and Practical Treatise on Vaccine" (Trai-té historique et pratique de la vaccine, 1801) by Jacques-Louis Moreau de la Sarthe , which were to be distributed to the local vaccine commissions to be set up .

The expedition led across the Canary Islands ( Tenerife ) to Venezuela , where it split up. José Salvany, the assistant surgeon, toured the Viceroyalty of Peru for seven years . Balmis continued the journey via Cuba to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Mexico. In February 1805, the expedition resumed from there to Asia - with a new group of 26 children to maintain the vaccine while crossing the Pacific. In April 1805, she reached the Philippines , where the Catholic Church, after initial hesitation, offered support. Most of the expedition then returned and reached Mexico again in August 1809. Balmis himself continued the journey from September 1805 via the Portuguese colony of Macau to China, where the vaccine had not yet reached. On his return to Spain in 1806, Balmis succeeded in convincing the British authorities on the island of St. Helena to agree to vaccinate the population.

Alexander von Humboldt is said to have written about the expedition in 1825 that it would remain the most memorable in the annals of history.

Web links

Commons : Balmis Expedition  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Carlos Franco-Paredes, Lorena Lammoglia, José Ignacio Santos-Preciado: The Spanish Royal Philanthropic Expedition to Bring Smallpox Vaccination to the New World and Asia in the 19th Century . In: Clinical Infectious Diseases . tape 41 , no. 9 , November 1, 2005, ISSN  1058-4838 , p. 1285–1289 , doi : 10.1086 / 496930 ( oup.com [accessed June 11, 2020]).
  2. Jump in time: A brief history of smallpox or how 22 orphans vaccinated the world. Retrieved June 11, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Javier Moro (in an interview on his novel "A flor de piel"): Una española, la primera enfermera en misión internacional. In: CANAL ENFERMERO. General Advice on Nursing in Spain, May 1, 2016, accessed May 22, 2020 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ Emilio Balaguer Perigüell, Rosa Ballester Añón: En el nombre de los niñnos: La Real expedición Filantropica de la vacuna (1803-1806), Chapter 4: "Viruela y vacuna en España y en los Territories coloniales de la llegada de antes de ultramar la expedición ». Ed .: Asociación Española de Pediatría (=  Monografías de la AEP ). Madrid 2003, p. 84, 91 (Spanish, aeped.es [accessed May 23, 2020]).
  5. ↑ Antilia. Vol. II. Fraga. Closely. March 19, 2005, accessed June 11, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Alexander von Humboldt: Attempt on the political state of the Kingdom of New Spain . JG Gottsche Buchhandlung, Tübingen 1810, p. 228 ( archive.org ).
  7. ↑ J. Tuells, B. Echániz Martínez: Balmis según Humboldt . In: Vacunas . tape 20 , no. 2 , July 1, 2019, ISSN  1576-9887 , p. 84–88 , doi : 10.1016 / j.vacun.2019.07.001 ( sciencedirect.com [accessed June 11, 2020]).