DW: Lessons learned: The eradication of smallpox 40 years ago
“It was one of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) greatest triumphs: On May 8, 1980, the WHO declared the smallpox virus, ‘Variola,’ to be completely eradicated. In living memory, or as far as we know, the virus had killed many millions of people around the world and over many centuries. Alone in the 20th century, about 300 million people died because of smallpox. But with an unprecedented, worldwide vaccination program, the WHO was able to put an end to the virus that had held humanity hostage for so long…” (Fruend, 5/7).