[History of vaccination: from empiricism towards recombinant vaccines].
OBJECTIVE
Two hundreds years after the discovery of the smallpox vaccine, immunization remains one of the most powerful tools of preventive medicine.


BACKGROUND
Immunization was born with Jenner, then Pasteur and expanded during the 19th and 20th century. It started with the empirical observation of cross-immunity between two diseases, cowpox and smallpox. It became a real science, with pathogen isolation, culture and attenuation or inactivation, to prepare a vaccine. Together with clinical and biological efficacy studies and adverse events assessments, it constructed the concept of "vaccinology". Protein conjugation of polyosidic vaccines has made possible early immunisation of infants. Nowadays, recombinant, reassortant, or virus-like particles technologies open the road for new vaccines.


CONCLUSIONS
Ongoing research opens the way for the development of new vaccines that will help to control transmittable diseases for which we are lacking antimicrobial agents.
Guérin
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Comité technique des vaccinations, groupe de travail du Conseil Supérieur d'hygiène publique de France, France. thomas.hanslik@apr.aphp.fr
D036262:Empirical Research; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D012900:Smallpox Vaccine / Q000266:history; D014611:Vaccination / Q000266:history*; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic
D012900:Smallpox Vaccine; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic