When the Soviet Union and the U.S. were busying themselves with the Cold War and the accompanying Space Age, there were scientists and physicians, from these two countries and from across the world, who were battling together in another war front – one against an infectious disease. By 1959, the World Health Organisation (WHO) actively campaigned for the eradication of smallpox – a contagious disease that originated over 3,000 years ago and one of the deadliest diseases known to humanity.
A vaccine for smallpox
People had known for long enough that those who contracted cowpox, a much less dangerous disease than smallpox, were immune to smallpox. By the end of the 18th Century, it had been demonstrated that inoculation with cowpox was not only effective, but also safe. As vaccination became common in the 19th and 20th Centuries, smallpox declined. But with increased travel making the world ever smaller, its presence in less-developed and remote areas presented a difficulty to even those who lived in countries where it had been eradicated.
Initial estimates suggested that over a billion people, some living in almost inaccessible areas, had to be vaccinated to break the global chain of infection. It was important to have a tool that could administer the vaccine in an easy, efficient and cost-effective way and that was made possible by American physician Robert Andrew Hingson.
Hingson made crucial contributions in the field of anaesthesia, including developing the technique of caudal anaesthesia and perfecting lumbar epidural anaesthesia for women in labour. Both these techniques were instrumental in reducing maternal and infant mortality throughout the world. Hingson is also well known as a humanitarian and was a pioneer in public health, setting up a foundation in 1958 to expand basic health care.
Hingson’s inspiration
It is believed that the idea of developing a high-speed jet injector struck Hingson while serving as the Chief of the Department of Anaesthesiology at the U.S. Marine Hospital in Staten Island, New York. On treating an unusual injury where a sailor had injected diesel oil into his hand accidentally without leaving any visible wound, Hingson got thinking.
Even though he wasn’t the first to come up with such an idea, Hingson’s jet injector lent itself to affordability and speed – attributes that made it an accessible tool for mass-immunisation projects. Without needles and syringes, Hingson’s invention could hold over 500 doses of the vaccine at a time and administer it to hundreds of people in an hour.
Can be diluted
On February 2, 1962, Hingson led a team to Liberia aboard the U.S.S Diamond Head. Realising that only 10,000 of the promised one million doses of smallpox vaccine was on board, Hingson came up with a successful means of using it in diluted form. Agreeing to a dilution of one to 11, nearly 1,10,000 people were vaccinated, by which time more supplies reached them. In all, nearly a million people in Liberia were immunised against smallpox.
With WHO also adopting the jet injector, Hingson’s pistol of peace was employed far and wide against a number of diseases. His jet injector earned the nicknames “shanti ki banduk” in India and “la pistola de la paz” in Nicaragua, different versions of “the peace gun” in Hindi and Spanish.
Smallpox eradicated
Even though the jet injector played a crucial role in the early stages of smallpox eradication, it was eventually used only in places where the programme was highly organised. This was because the wear and tear often damaged the equipment, and it also had to be maintained in a highly sanitised manner. These reasons eventually led to the downfall of jet injectors, as contaminated tools were involved in the spread of diseases, defeating its purpose.
By the end of 1979, the global eradication of smallpox was certified and by 1980 it was endorsed by the World Health Assembly. As for Hingson, he remained a professor until 1973, when he switched to full-time relief work with his foundation. He continued this till 1982 and died in 1996, aged 83.
