Should the Last Samples of Smallpox Virus Be Saved?
11:12 minutes
The last known case of smallpox was diagnosed in 1977. In 1979, the World Health Organization declared the virulent disease, which caused millions of deaths over the course of history and prompted a global vaccination effort, to be eradicated. However, live samples of the virus live on, stored in carefully guarded freezers in Russia and the U.S. Now, world health experts are set to discuss whether or not it’s time to destroy those samples. Inger Damon, head of the Poxvirus and Rabies Branch at the CDC, argues that the time is not yet right.
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Inger Damon
Inger Damon is chief of the Poxvirus and Rabies branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.
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