Smallpox was a highly contagious, serious viral disease caused by the Variola virus. It historically affected humans worldwide, leading to disfiguring scars and often death, before its global eradication.
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Smallpox has existed for thousands of years, causing devastating epidemics throughout human history. Edward Jenner developed the first effective vaccine against smallpox in 1796, laying the foundation for modern vaccinology. Through a massive global vaccination effort led by the World Health Organization (WHO), smallpox was officially declared eradicated worldwide in 1980, making it the first human disease to be eliminated.
Smallpox primarily spread from person to person through prolonged, direct face-to-face contact via respiratory droplets from an infected individual's coughs or sneezes. It could also spread through direct contact with infected skin lesions or scabs, and less commonly, via contaminated materials like bedding and clothing.
Période de Contagiosité : Varies by disease
5 countries with reported activity. Updated from real-time surveillance data.
Renseignements en temps réel issus de la surveillance sanitaire mondiale et de la surveillance par IA
Sources de données : BEACON, ProMED, OMS, CDC et plus de 50 agences nationales de santé
✓ Données en direct mises à jour en temps réel depuis les sources de santé mondiales
2026 Independence Day: India's pharmaceutical industry marks a historic milestone with a new drug approval. This achievement reflects decades of growth from importing medicines to global leadership. The nation now supplies a significant portion of the world's generic medicines and vaccines. The Covid-19 pandemic further showcased the industry's manufacturing capabilities globally. Government initiatives now aim to foster innovation and high-value biopharmaceutical production. As India prepares to mark its 80th Independence Day on August 15, 79 years since 1947, its pharmaceutical industry has quietly delivered a milestone that fits the occasion better than most. On May 30, the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approved Zaynich, an injectable antibiotic for drug-resistant urinary trac...
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As we celebrated immunisation week in the last week of April, there is a need to talk about the tremendous progress the country has made since the time Anna Dusthall, a three-year-old child from Mumbai became the first person in India to receive smallpox vaccine on June 14, 1802; to post-Independence India, when in 1948, the BCG vaccine laboratory was set up at the King Institute, Guindy, Chennai and other national institutes and a number of private vaccine manufacturers came up; to 30 years late
📰 13 news sources reporting on this story.
On a hot January day in 1788, 11 British ships commanded by Arthur Philip sailed into Sydney Harbor carrying convicts, sailors, marines and the machinery of a new colony. The location was first charted by British explorer Captain James Cook just a few years ago in 1770.
For thousands of years prior to European settlement, the harbor's foreshores were inhabited by Indigenous Australian groups, including the Darug, Guringai, and Gadigal peoples. We don't know what those people thought when they sa
The deadline expired on September 11 and we got an extension of six months, because the political decision to transfer the integration of OPEKEPE to ADEA has been made and the European Commission must monitor all these steps, explained the Minister of Rural Development
A "huge misunderstanding" regarding the Commission's letter on agricultural subsidies was raised on Friday morning by the Minister of Rural Development, Kostas Tsiaras, who urged farmers not to conceal cases of smallpox in sheep.
"Obviously, we are hearing things that have nothing to do with the process we have followed so far, to consolidate OPEKEPE, on the one hand, and to meet the requirements set by the European Commission, on the other hand, so that there are no fines for any reason whatsoever. The deadline expired on...
Read More: https://en.protothema.gr/2025/09/19/tsiaras-misunderstanding-with-the-commissions-letter-on-agricultural-subsidies-farmers-should-not-hide-smallpox-cases/
US states have relied on vaccine mandates since the 1800s, when a smallpox vaccine offered the first successful protection against a disease that had killed millions. More than a century later, Florida's top public health official said vaccine requirements are unethical and unnecessary for high vac... Source: Al Jazeera Online - Read Full Article
Among public health professionals, Dr. Foege was almost without peer -- the grand old man of public health, a field that many feel is under siege by the Trump administration. His successors at the CDC, the nation's primary public health agency, often sought his counsel. In 2012, President Obama awar... Source: The Boston Globe - Read Full Article
Over 3% of livestock has been culled - The threat to feta cheese, the risk of further spread of the animal disease that killed 263,000 animals in 13 months - Greek sheep and goat breeds face extinction
Greek sheep and goat farming is on the brink of a lockdown, as smallpox spreads from region to re...
Source: protothemanews.com - Read Full Article
When historians talk about the eradication of smallpox, they often start with Geneva, Washington, or New Delhi. But the turning point came earlier, and further south, in Nigeria, in the late 1960s, where a young American epidemiologist made a practical decision that reshaped global health. William H. Foege, who died on January 24 at the age of 89, was not yet a giant of public health when he arrived in northern Nigeria. He was a field doctor facing a familiar problem in post-independence Africa: too little money, too few vaccines, and a disease that moved faster than governments. Smallpox was still endemic across large parts of Nigeria at the time. The vaccine existed, but vaccinating entire populations in a vast country with weak logistics and poor cold-chain infrastructure was unrealisti...
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The Rural Development and Food Ministry presented 20 new measures aimed at controlling sheep pox. Authorities said the proposals, developed by the National Scientific Committee for Smallpox Management and Control, include updating the sanctions framework, relaxing restrictions ahead of the festive season and reinforcing veterinary staff. The measures also establish new certified laboratories, maintain 24-hour disinfection stations and control feed movements. Farm-level actions include appointing authorized veterinarians, compulsory farmer training and certification for the movement of animals and animal products. While regional interventions involve operating isolation and quarantine stations and ensuring early culling and burial in accordance with health regulations. The dairy industry wi...
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The debate on vaccination as a means of dealing with sheep has come back with a vengeance recently, as the epizootic continues to plague the Greek livestock industry.
Since August 20, 2024, when the disease first emerged, more than 275,000 sheep and goats have been killed, leaving behind a chain of...
Source: protothemanews.com - Read Full Article
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Informations fiables provenant des principales organisations de santé
Directives officielles des Centers for Disease Control and Prevention des États-Unis
Voir les Ressources du CDC →Surveillance mondiale des maladies et directives de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé
Voir les Ressources de l'OMS →Les informations sur les maladies sur Virus Watcher sont révisées par notre Épidémiologiste en Chef, ancien analyste principal du CDC pour les prévisions FluSight. Les données épidémiques sont agrégées à partir de sources vérifiées notamment BEACON, ProMED, OMS, CDC et plus de 50 agences nationales de santé. Ces informations sont à des fins éducatives et ne doivent pas remplacer les conseils médicaux professionnels.
Dernière révision : 2026-08-13
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