Health & biology · 1980

Smallpox eradicated

The WHO declared the first human disease wiped out, after a global vaccination campaign.

Smallpox killed an estimated 300 million people in the 20th century. Surveillance and ring vaccination from 1967 ended transmission, with the last natural case in 1977 and eradication certified in May 1980.

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Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 1

Vaccination 1796

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Reported smallpox cases worldwide Latest: 0 cases (2023) Source: Our World in Data

Smallpox deaths in London, 1629-1902 Latest: 1.59 % of all deaths (1902) Source: Our World in Data

Childhood vaccine coverage Latest: DTP3: 85 % of one-year-olds (2025) Source: Our World in Data