title: History of Smallpox and Its Spread in Human Populations.
abstract: Smallpox is considered among the most devastating of human diseases. Its spread in populations, initiated for thousands of years following a probable transmission from an animal host, was concomitant with movements of people across regions and continents, trade and wars. Literature permitted to retrace the occurrence of epidemics from ancient times to recent human history, smallpox having affected all levels of past society including famous monarchs. The disease was officially declared eradicated in 1979 following intensive vaccination campaigns.Paleomicrobiology dedicated to variola virus is restricted to few studies, most unsuccessful, involving ancient material. Only one recent approach allowed the identification of viral DNA fragments from lung tissue of a 300-year-old body excavated from permafrost in Eastern Siberia; phylogenetic analysis revealed that this ancient strain was distinct from those described during the 20th century.
authors.affiliation: AMIS Laboratory, UMR 5288, CNRS / University of Toulouse / University of Strasbourg, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thèves
authors.affiliation: AMIS Laboratory, UMR 5288, CNRS / University of Toulouse / University of Strasbourg, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Crubézy
authors.affiliation: Viral Emergence and Co-Evolution Unit, UMR 7268 ADES, Aix-Marseille University / French Blood Agency / CNRS, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Biagini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D058872:Epidemics; D014943:Global Health; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D063426:Human Migration; D006801:Humans; D010164:Paleopathology / Q000379:methods; D011212:Poxviridae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012899:Smallpox / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000266:history* / Q000635:transmission; D014195:Travel; D014773:Virology / Q000379:methods