I hope that some day the practice of producing cowpox in human beings will spread over the world - when that day comes, there will be no more smallpox.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I think when smallpox was eliminated, the whole world got pretty excited about that because it's just such a dramatic success.
I think we will see better vaccines within the next 15 years, but I'm not a scientist and am focused on the short-term - what will happen in the interim.
In 1967, the world health community launched a global effort to eradicate smallpox. It took a coordinated, worldwide effort, required the commitment of every government, and cost $130 million dollars. By 1977, smallpox had disappeared.
We will talk about cooperation to destroy the disease as soon as we can.
Smallpox was the worst disease in history. It killed more people than all the wars in history.
New vaccines are being developed all the time, which could save many more lives and dramatically improve people's health. And this goes beyond the traditional burden of childhood infectious diseases.
If we can contain and monitor animal viruses at an earlier stage - when they're first entering human populations, preferably before they've had a chance to become human-adapted, certainly before they've had a chance to spread - we can head off pandemics altogether.
I do believe sadly it's going to take some diseases coming back to realize that we need to change and develop vaccines that are safe.
You don't have to vaccinate every man, woman and child in the country if you have a couple of cases of smallpox cropping up.
Nobody spends any money on smallpox unless they worry about a bio-terrorist recreating it.