The World Health Assembly in 1996 set a date for virus destruction, but in subsequent resolutions the destruction of the virus has been postponed repeatedly to provide opportunities for research ...

To create this vaccine, you begin with another virus that is similar to the smallpox virus, yet different enough not to bring on the smallpox disease once it enters your body. This similar virus ...

On August 19, a major driving force behind the smallpox eradication program passed away at 87 years of age: Donald Ainslie (otherwise known as D.A.) Henderson. After serving as Chief of the ...

Smallpox, an infectious disease caused by the variola virus, caused devastating outbreaks for centuries, with about three of every 10 cases proving fatal, according to the C.D.C.

Smallpox vaccinations in the United States were discontinued nearly 30 years ago, and the last known case anywhere in the world was in 1977. So why are federal health officials suddenly asking for ...

Smallpox was eradicated in 1977. This amazing, global public health achievement isn’t just a page in a history book or an ...

Wiping out smallpox had an unintended consequence: the rise of mpox in the past few years. Here's the story — starting with patient zero for mpox back in 1970.

The mummy of a child discovered in a crypt beneath a Lithuanian church harbors the oldest sample found to date of the virus that causes smallpox, a new report said.

Smallpox, one of the biggest killers in history, is caused by a virus called variola. Variola causes a distinctive rash and is often lethal. The name variola comes from the Latin word for “spotted” ...

The virus specifically infects humans and spreads primarily through inhaled respiratory droplets released while sneezing, talking or coughing. Smallpox gets comfortable inside its unwitting host ...

Before the smallpox virus was destroyed in the early 1980s, many people received the smallpox vaccine. As a result, if you’re in your 40s or older, you likely have a permanent scar from an older ...