Smallpox : the Death of a Disease

About this book

With a New Introduction by Phillip K. Peterson, M.D., author of Microbes: The Life-Changing Story of Germs For more than 3000 years, hundreds of millions of people have died or been left permanently scarred or blind by the relentless, incurable disease called smallpox. In 1967, Dr. D.A. Henderson became director of a worldwide campaign to eliminate this disease from the face of the earth. This spellbinding book is Dr. Henderson's personal story of how he led the World Health Organization's campaign to eradicate smallpox--the only disease in history to have been deliberately eliminated. Some have called this feat "the greatest scientific and humanitarian achievement of the past century." This latest edition features a new introduction by Phillip K. Peterson, M.D., in which the infectious diseases expert contends that Dr. Henderson's campaign against smallpox may provide insights towards the fight against COVID-19 and future global pandemics. In a lively, engrossing narrative, Dr. Henderson makes it clear that the gargantuan international effort involved more than straightforward mass vaccination. He and his staff had to cope with civil wars, floods, impassable roads, and refugees as well as formidable bureaucratic and cultural obstacles, shortages of local health personnel and meager budgets. Countries across the world joined in the effort; the United States and the Soviet Union worked together through the darkest cold war days; and professionals from more than 70 nations serv

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