17th Century Variola Virus Reveals the Recent History of Smallpox

Smallpox holds a unique position in the history of medicine. It was the first disease for which a vaccine was developed and remains the only human disease eradicated by vaccination. Although there have been claims of smallpox in Egypt, India, and China dating back millennia [1Fenner F. Henderson D. Arita I. Jezek Z. Ladnyi I. Smallpox and Its Eradication. World Health Organization, 1988Google Scholar, 2Hopkins D. The Greatest Killer: Smallpox in...