Health experts have expressed concern that smallpox, one of the deadliest diseases in human history, could become a potential cause of a future global pandemic.
Smallpox, known in medical science as Variola virus, was officially eradicated worldwide in 1980 following an extensive global vaccination campaign led by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Today, the virus exists only in a very limited number of high-security laboratories, where it is stored under strict containment as carefully controlled samples.
However, scientists are now warning that the eradication of smallpox and the discontinuation of routine vaccination have led to a decline in population-level immunity against other related poxviruses.
Experts caution that viruses belonging to the Orthopoxvirus family could potentially fill the gap left by smallpox and emerge as new global health threats.
These include monkeypox (mpox) as well as lesser-known viruses such as cowpox, buffalopox, and camelpox.
It is worth noting that during the 20th century, smallpox was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 500 million people worldwide, underscoring the devastating potential of poxvirus-related outbreaks if left unchecked.
