Once the most feared disease on the planet, smallpox killed countless people in the course of human history. The first signs of smallpox are fever and aches. Then come the disfiguring pustules, often followed by death. But there hasn’t been a case in nearly 30 years. In 1979, after an aggressive 12-year campaign of vaccination, the World Health Organization declared human beings smallpox-free. William Foege, who worked on the effort and is now a senior fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, says smallpox is still the only disease that humans have ever managed to vanquish.
Crude versions of a smallpox vaccine were first described in the 18th century, and by the 19th century, vaccination had become widespread—and in some countries, compulsory. “The speed with which smallpox disappeared was breathtaking,” Foege says.
Smallpox hasn’t vanished entirely, however. At least two laboratories—the CDC in Atlanta and one in Moscow—keep the ...
