The number of cases of smallpox in countries practising vaccination fell rapidly.

However, smallpox was not eliminated from Europe and the United States until the late 1940s. The last fatal case of smallpox in the USA occurred in 1949.

So the problem was solved then?

Not entirely. Smallpox continued to be imported into these regions from other parts of the world:

In 1972, an outbreak occurred in Yugoslavia, started by an immigrant from Iran, which resulted in 175 cases and 35 deaths.

So how was smallpox eradicated?

© AJC 1997.