What was smallpox eradicated by

They agreed to reduce the number of laboratories holding stocks of variola virus to only four locations. In , the four countries that either served as a WHO collaborating center or were actively working with variola virus were the United States, England, Russia, and South Africa. By , England and South Africa had either destroyed their stocks or transferred them to other approved labs.

Three-year-old Rahima Banu with her mother in Bangladesh. Rahima was the last known person to have had naturally acquired smallpox in the world. An 8-year-old girl named Bilkisunnessa reported the case to the local Smallpox Eradication Program team and received a Taka reward.

Foster M. WHO poster commemorating the eradication of smallpox in October , which was officially endorsed by the 33rd World Health Assembly on May 8, Courtesy of WHO. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. History of Smallpox. Minus Related Pages. Origin of Smallpox The origin of smallpox is unknown.

Spread of Smallpox Historians trace the global spread of smallpox to the growth of civilizations and exploration. Early Control Efforts Smallpox was a terrible disease. Edward Jenner — Photo courtesy of the National Library of Medicine. Smallpox was a serious infectious disease. Research on smallpox continues today. Smallpox sores covered the body.

What is Smallpox? Signs and Symptoms. Smallpox was deemed eradicated by a group of independent international experts who certified the country was free from smallpox for at least two years and that the surveillance systems were capable of detecting outbreaks.

Downloads Read the entire case study PDF K External Links Read an interview with a Peace Corps volunteer who worked on the Smallpox Eradication Program Learn more about the history of smallpox and its relevance as a bioterrorism threat today Read about smallpox and the eradication campaign Read the World Health Organization magazine issue announcing the eradication of smallpox Watch a description of smallpox eradication and the importance of early detection and early response Health Condition: In , there were approximately 10 to 15 million cases of smallpox in more than 50 countries, and 1.

Smallpox has been eradicated from the globe, with no new cases reported since The threat of bioterrorism keeps the danger of smallpox alive, however, and debate continues over whether strains of the disease should be retained in specified laboratories. Hospitals played a major role in transmission in a number of smallpox outbreaks. The World Health Organization is currently supporting several control programs and has not singled out another disease for eradication. The lessons learned from the smallpox campaign can be readily applied to other public health programs.