360The world declares smallpox eradicated
On 8 May 1980, the World Health Assembly declared that smallpox had been wiped out worldwide. The disease had killed hundreds of millions of people over the centuries. A global vaccination campaign led by the World Health Organization tracked down the last cases. Smallpox remains the only human disease ever eradicated.
Smallpox was one of the deadliest diseases in history. In the 20th century alone, it is estimated to have killed about 300 million people.
Edward Jenner's vaccine, from 1796, offered protection, and many countries eliminated smallpox. In 1967 the World Health Organization launched an intensified campaign to wipe it out everywhere.
Teams used 'surveillance and containment': finding every case quickly and vaccinating everyone around it, instead of trying to vaccinate whole populations. Health workers searched villages across Asia and Africa.
The last natural case was in Somalia in 1977. After two years of checks, a global commission confirmed eradication, and on 8 May 1980 the World Health Assembly made the declaration.
- 1796
- Jenner's first vaccination
- 1967
- The intensified eradication campaign begins
- 1977
- The last natural case, in Somalia
- 8 May 1980
- Eradication is declared
Sources: World Health Organization · Britannica.