Smallpox (caused by the variola virus*) is one of the deadliest diseases that mankind has suffered. There is evidence of smallpox as far back as the era of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Many years later, in the 20th century, smallpox was responsible for the death of roughly 300 million people! [1] 300 million people worldwide – that’s equivalent to half the population of Europe or eight times the entire population of Canada. Then, why are people not terrified of smallpox? What changed?
The World Health Organization (WHO) launched an effective vaccination campaign to eradicate smallpox in 1967. In truth, the history of vaccines against smallpox goes back to Dr. Edward Jenner in 1796 (for more information, you can read this post). Still, in brief terms, vaccination implies training your body to fight the virus by exposing you to a dead, similar, weakened virus, or even to just a fragment of the virus.
Currently, smallpox has been successfully eradicated (made official on May 8, 1980) [2]. Eradication means that there are no new cases of smallpox in the world. To achieve this, the Intensified Global Eradication Program used mass vaccination. They also maintained surveillance programs to detect possible outbreaks and implemented systems and protocols to identify and contain cases (therefore decreasing the virus propagation) [3]. Nowadays, people don’t worry about the variola virus since the last naturally occurring infection happened in 1977 in Somalia. Can you imagine if someday people could say the same thing about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19?
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Written by: Nicole
Edited by: Adrian and Natasha
BioDecoded is a volunteer group committed to sharing accurate scientific information. We cannot offer any specific health advice. If you have any doubts about getting vaccinated due to previous health conditions, please speak with your healthcare professional or family physician. Your doctor can revise your medical history and advise you on the best path to follow. If you have any questions about this topic, please comment or send them to our email.
References:
National Geographic (s.f.). Smallpox. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-diseases/smallpox/
WHO (1980). The global eradication of smallpox. Final report of the global commission for the certification of smallpox eradication. In History of International Public Health No. 4. Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/39253/a41438.pdf;jsessionid=94D3EB72AB8284B98214BB6F044C4F78?sequence=1
Henderson, D.A., & Moss, B. (1999). Smallpox and Vaccinia. S.A. Plotkin & W.A. Orenstein (Eds.). Philadelphia: Saunders. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7294/
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