The last case of smallpox in the United States occurred in 1949. A worldwide campaign to find new cases followed. Case clusters persisted into the 1960s and 70s. The last case was finally diagnosed in Somalia in 1977. The disease was declared eradicated by the WHO 2 years later and by 1980 the routine administration of the vaccine ended throughout the world.

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History

Gabrielle Johns

19 October, 10:57

The last case of smallpox in the United States occurred in 1949. A worldwide campaign to find new cases followed. Case clusters persisted into the 1960s and 70s. The last case was finally diagnosed in Somalia in 1977. The disease was declared eradicated by the WHO 2 years later and by 1980 the routine administration of the vaccine ended throughout the world.

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Kaeden · Answer 1

Donald Henderson, the American doctor and public health agent who led a successful global struggle to eradicate smallpox in the 1960s and 1970s, saving thousands of lives, died at the age of 87.

Known with D. A., Henderson was considered a public health "giant", said Michael Klag, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a position previously held by Henderson.

Henderson has made the World Health Organization successful in the 10 years it has endeavored to eradicate smallpox, one of the greatest public health achievements in history.

First known as the "plague", the disease was one of the deadliest in history, killing about 300 to 500 million people in the 20th century alone.

Henderson oversaw the implementation of a systematic vaccination program that aimed to isolate outbreaks, rather than attempting mass vaccination. The campaign was declared a success in 1980.