BCG vaccine fine powder. Sometimes the powder is sealed with vacuum in a glass ampoule. Such a glass ampoule has to be opened slowly to prevent the airflow from blowing out the powder. Then the powder has to be diluted with saline water before injecting. The history of BCG is tied to that of smallpox. Jean Antoine Villemin first recognized bovine tuberculosis in 1854 and transmitted it, and Robert Koch first distinguished "Mycobacterium bovis" from "Mycobacterium tuberculosis". Following the success of vaccination in preventing smallpox, established during the 18th century, scientists thought to find a corollary in tuberculosis by drawing a parallel
Inoculation a 20% incidence of severe scarring), many parents felt that the benefits of inoculation outweighed the risks and so inoculated their children. Two forms of the disease of smallpox were recognised, now known to be due to two strains of the Variola virus. Those contracting "Variola minor" had a greatly reduced risk of death – 1–2% – compared to those contracting "Variola major" with 30% mortality. Infection via inhaled viral particles in droplets spread the infection more widely than the deliberate infection through a small skin wound. The smaller, localised infection is adequate to stimulate the immune system to produce