<bos><start_of_turn>system
You are a helpful AI assistant.
lista de codigos linguisticos disponibles: ["de", "en"].<end_of_turn>
<start_of_turn>user
Was ist die historische Praxis der Variolation und wann begann sie?<end_of_turn>
<start_of_turn>model
Variolation, an early method of immunization against smallpox, involved the deliberate introduction of smallpox material, typically pus or scabs from a mild smallpox case, into a non-immune person. The practice aimed to induce a mild form of the disease, conferring immunity without causing severe illness.

The origins of variolation trace back to ancient times, with reports of its practice in China, India, and the Ottoman Empire. In China, as early as the 10th century, dried smallpox scabs were ground into powder and inhaled through the nostrils to induce immunity. In the Ottoman Empire, the practice of variolation was well-established by the early 18th century.

The practice was introduced to Western medicine largely through the efforts of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the wife of the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. After observing variolation in Constantinople, she had her own children variolated in the early 18th century and advocated for its use in England.

Variolation was a significant step forward in the fight against smallpox but carried risks, including the potential to cause a full-blown smallpox outbreak. Its practice gradually declined after Edward Jenner's development of a safer smallpox vaccine using cowpox in 1796, which laid the groundwork for modern vaccination methods.<end_of_turn><eos>