Smallpox and its eradication

Abstract

The definitive history of the worlds most triumphant achievement in medicine and public health. In 31 chapters, this monumental work recounts the history of one of humanity's worst diseases, moving from ancient times, through the discovery of vaccination, to the spectacular WHO-led campaign that finally vanquished the disease. Authored by experts personally involved in the eradication campaign, the book gives posterity a minutely detailed account of both how the disease once reigned and what was necessary, step by step and country by country, to eliminate the ancient scourge once and for all. Virtually everything ever known about the disease, and everything that happened during the global eradication campaign, has been collected and preserved in this richly illustrated account. For scientists and clinicians, Smallpox and its Eradication will serve as a complete and final review of knowledge on the clinical features, virology, pathology, immunology, and epidemiology of variola major and minor. For students of public health and medical history, the book offers access to a wealth of previously unpublished data and personal experiences that make up the saga of a public health event unprecedented in scope and unparalleled in the magnitude of its achievement. For posterity, Smallpox and its Eradication will serve, above all, as an inspiring reminder of the knowledge and efforts that transformed smallpox from a universally dreaded disease to one the world could safely forget