cowpox
/ˈkaʊpɑks/
noun
- A mild viral disease of cows that can be transmitted to humans, historically used to create the first smallpox vaccine.
- Edward Jenner discovered that exposure to cowpox could protect people from smallpox.
- The cowpox virus is related to the smallpox virus but is much less dangerous.
- Farmers sometimes caught cowpox from handling infected cows.