Excavations have timely revealed the traces of many diseases such as Tuberculosis in Egyptian Mummies indicating that they originated in ancient Egypt. Similarly, smallpox rushes were found on three mummies suggesting that smallpox might also have originated in ancient Egypt. However, the earliest written record of a disease that appears to be smallpox appeared in China, India, and Asia in the 4th Century CE, 7th century, and 10th century respectively. However, smallpox is also associated with major plagues that happen many years ago without clear identification such as the plague of Athens and the Antonine plague.
The spread of smallpox across the world was related to the growth and spread of civilizations, expansion of trade routes and exploration over many years. Increased trade between China and Korea in the 6th century introduced smallpox in Japan. Similarly, the expansion of the Arabs in the 7th century introduced smallpox in Northern Africa, Spain, and Portugal. Colonialism such as the occupation of Portugal also facilitated the spread of smallpox. Smallpox also spread quickly in the Caribbean, Central and Sothern Africa due to European expansion and Slave trade in the 16th century. The latest adverse spread of smallpox was the spread of the disease in Australia by British Explorers.
Smallpox had killed a large part of the global population before Edward Jenner identified a vaccine in 1976, which enabled people to come in contact with infected people without getting the disease. Eventually, the series of deaths from smallpox reduced since then. However, there have always been small incidences of smallpox outbreak over time.
Eventually, the modern world is smallpox free due the progressive smallpox immunization campaign on all new born children. There are also negligible cases of naturally acquired smallpox implying that disease was contained. However, research is still taking place to ensure that there are no modifications in the initial smallpox virus that could lead to another unnoticed global outbreak
Bibliography
Berger, Stephen. and Vaccinia: Global Status: 2016 Edition. California: GIDEON Informatics, Inc., 2016, 12
Greenspan, Jesse. The Rise and Fall of Small Pox. History in the Headlines, 2015, 1
Hopkins, R. Donald. The Greatest Killer: in History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002, 20.
Li, YU., Caroll, S. Darin., Gardner, N. Shear., Walsh,C. Matthiew., Vitalis, A. Elizabeth., and Damon, K. Inger. On the origin of : Correlating variola phylogenics with historical records. Proceedings of the National Acdemy of Sciencs of the United States of America vol. 104 no. 40, 2006, 1
Kotar, S.L. & Gessler, J.E. : A History. New York: McFarland, 2013, 212
Mayo Clinic Staff. Small Pox: Causes. Mayo Clinic, 2017, 1
McEleny, J. Brenda. : A Primer. U.S.A: DIANE Publishing, 2000, 7
Peters, T. Stephanie. Small Pox in the World. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2005, 4 – 10.
Reingold, Adam. : Is It Over?New York: Bearport Publishing, 2010, 13
Ridgeway, Tom. Smalpox. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2001, 12
Riedel, Stefan. Edward Jenner and the history of and vaccination. US National Library of Medicine, 2005, 1
