Prompt Cast
The History and Eradication of Smallpox
TLDR Smallpox, the deadliest disease in human history, was officially eradicated in 1980 after causing devastating epidemics and decimating up to 90% of the population in the Americas. The disease originated in northeast Africa and spread through trade and travel, but thanks to techniques like variolation and vaccination, smallpox is now a thing of the past.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Smallpox, a disease that killed half a billion people over the last century, was officially eradicated in 1980.
01:40
Smallpox, the deadliest disease in human history, likely originated in northeast Africa and spread to other parts of the world through trade and travel.
03:23
Smallpox spread rapidly through trade and travel, causing large outbreaks throughout history, including devastating epidemics in Japan and Europe, but its impact was most severe in the Americas, where it decimated up to 90% of the population within the first century of European contact.
05:07
Variolation, a technique used in China and Africa to provide lifelong resistance to smallpox, was adopted by Lady Mary Wortley Montague in Europe in the 17th century.
06:35
Edward Jenner developed the technique of vaccination in the late 18th century, which quickly spread around the world and eventually led to mandatory vaccination in certain countries.
08:11
In 1978, the last case of smallpox in the world occurred when Janet Parker, a photographer at the Birmingham University School of Medicine in England, contracted the disease after working in the floor above a laboratory.
09:54
Since the eradication of smallpox in 1980, there has been ongoing debate about whether to keep frozen samples of the virus for vaccine purposes or to destroy them due to the risk of the virus spreading again.
