| smallpox and its control in canada. | edward jenner's first treatise in 1798 described how he used cowpox material to provide immunity to the related smallpox virus. he sent this treatise and some cowpox material to his classmate john clinch in trinity, nfld., who gave the first smallpox vaccinations in north america. dissemination of the new technique, despite violent criticism, was rapid throughout europe and the united states. within a few years of its discovery, vaccination was instrumental in controlling smallpox epidemics amon ... | 1999 | 10624414 |