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The history of smallpox extends into pre-history. [1] Genetic evidence suggests that the smallpox virus emerged 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. [2] Prior to that, similar ancestral viruses circulated, but possibly only in other mammals, and possibly with different symptoms.
Historians trace the global spread of smallpox to the growth of civilizations and exploration. Expanding trade routes over the centuries also led to the spread of the disease. Highlights from History: 6 th Century—Increased trade with China and Korea brings smallpox to Japan.
7 maj 2015 · In fact, historians believe that smallpox and other European diseases reduced the indigenous population of North and South America by up to 90 percent, a blow far greater than any defeat in...
Smallpox is the only human disease that has been successfully eradicated.1. It is an infectious disease caused by the variola virus, and was a major cause of mortality in the past, with historic records of outbreaks across the world. Its historic death tolls were so large that it is often likened to the bubonic plague.
11 paź 2024 · In 1967 WHO began to vaccinate entire populations around every reported outbreak of smallpox. The disease was no longer endemic in India by 1975 and in Ethiopia by 1976. The last endemic case of smallpox (actually an infection of variola minor) was recorded in Somalia in 1977.
The last major European outbreak of smallpox was in 1972 in Yugoslavia, after a pilgrim from Kosovo returned from the Middle East, where he had contracted the virus. The epidemic infected 175 people, causing 35 deaths.
In 1980 WHO declared smallpox eradicated – the only infectious disease to achieve this distinction. This remains among the most notable and profound public health successes in history. Early symptoms of smallpox include high fever, fatigue and severe back pain, and less often, abdominal pain and vomiting.
