vaccinia
/vakˈsɪnɪə
/noun [mass noun] Medicine
Cowpox, or the virus which causes it.Smallpox vaccine contains live vaccinia virus, a milder cousin of the variola virus....
- A live, replicating virus, vaccinia can cause side effects, which on rare occasions can be serious and potentially life-threatening.
- Jenner waited only four years before declaring that the vaccine that he named vaccinia provided immunity from smallpox for life.
Origin
Early 19th century: modern Latin, from Latin vaccinus (see vaccine).