The History of Smallpox

The Rise and Fall of a Disease

Updated December 16, 2014.

The history of the rise and fall of smallpox is a success story for "modern" medicine and public health. Even though the dis class="mrb"> Updated December 16, 2014.

The history of the rise and fall of smallpox is aease has been eradicated, the threat of its return has once again brought it to the forefront of public controversy.

The origin of smallpox is uncertain, but it is believed to have originated in Africa and then spread to India and China thousands of years ago. The first recorded smallpox epidemic was in 1350 BC during the Egyptian-Hittite war. Smallpox reached Europe between the 5th and 7th centuries and was present in major European cities by the 18th century. Epidemics occurred in the North American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. At one time smallpox was a significant disease in every country throughout the world except Australia and a few isolated islands. Millions of people died in Europe and Mexico as a result of widespread smallpox epidemics.

The fall of smallpox began with the realization that survivors oft adsense ads-half">

Advertisement
Advertisement
div class="label"> Advertisement
Advertisement
© 2015 About.com — All rights reserved.
Also from About.com:
Selector); }