Smallpox

Smallpox was a deadly infectious disease caused by the variola virus. Through a massive global vaccination effort, smallpox was eradicated in 1980 — the only human infectious disease ever eliminated from nature. India achieved smallpox eradication in 1975. Routine smallpox vaccination was stopped globally after eradication.

Historical symptoms

• High fever and severe body aches
• A characteristic rash starting on the face, arms, and hands, then spreading
• Small red spots becoming fluid-filled blisters, then pustules, then scabs
• Permanent scarring where scabs fell off
• Around 30% case fatality; many survivors had permanent disfigurement or blindness

Why this page still exists

Although smallpox is eradicated in the wild, the virus exists in two research laboratories (in the US and Russia) under strict conditions. Awareness remains because:

• The theoretical risk of deliberate release remains a biosecurity concern
• Mpox (monkeypox, see separate page) is a related virus in the same family
• Understanding the success of smallpox eradication informs current efforts (polio eradication, elimination of measles, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis)

Smallpox does not occur naturally in people anymore. Vaccines and antiviral medicines exist should they ever be needed. For today, smallpox is a powerful reminder that coordinated global action, vaccination, and public-health systems can eradicate diseases that once killed millions.