Explore: Smallpox History

The history of smallpox extends into pre-history. Genetic evidence suggests that the smallpox virus emerged 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. Prior to that, similar

Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally

The history of smallpox in Mexico spans approximately 430 years from the arrival of the Spanish to the official eradication in 1951. It was brought to

In 1978, a smallpox outbreak in the United Kingdom led to the death of Janet Parker, a British medical photographer. She was the last person recorded to

The smallpox vaccine is used to prevent smallpox infection caused by the variola virus. It is the first vaccine to have been developed against a contagious

Between 1836 and 1840, smallpox became widespread across the Great Plains. The epidemic reached its height following the spring of 1837, when an American

The Smallpox Hospital, sometimes referred to as the Renwick Smallpox Hospital and later the Maternity and Charity Hospital Training School, was a hospital

The 1972 Yugoslav smallpox outbreak was the largest outbreak of smallpox in Europe after the Second World War. It was centered in Kosovo, an ex-province

physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms vaccine and vaccination are

the Western Hemisphere was devastated by the 1775–1782 North American smallpox epidemic. Estimates based on remnant settlements say at least 130,000 people