Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox PDF

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The story of the rise and fall of smallpox, one of the most savage killers in the history of mankind, and the only disease ever to be successfully exterminated (30 years ago next year) by a public health campaign. Proceeds from the sale of this book will to to support the Edward Jenner Museum in Berkeley, UK (visit www.jennermuseum.com).

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• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (September 27, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0230302319
• ISBN-13: 978-0230302310
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 5.1 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox PDF

Smallpox was successfully eliminated from the human population in 1979, due to -- and in spite of -- the efforts of physicians, scientists, public officials and private citizens over the past four centuries to rid mankind of one of its greatest killers. The variola virus now exists only in two research centers in the United States and Russia, and it is guarded with the utmost security, as smallpox remains an untreatable and often fatal infection, ready to unleash a reign of terror if it were ever to fall into the wrong hands.

Gareth Williams, a professor of medicine at the University of Bristol, expertly and interestingly describes the history of smallpox from antiquity, when its telltale scars were found on Egyptian mummies, to the present day, where its legacy is most notable for the current anti-vaccination movement, particularly in the UK and United States.

The story of smallpox is intimately linked with the story of Western civilization and medicine. Its introduction to immunologically naﶥ native civilizations throughout the Americas decimated their populations and destroyed their cultures, permitting their easy conquest by colonialists. The "discovery" of vaccination by Edward Jenner -- which is widely attributed to him but was practiced throughout the world for many years -- saved millions of lives since its introduction, and led to the development of vaccines against other deadly pathogens. The study of smallpox was instrumental to the future understanding of microbes as the causative factor of many diseases such as tuberculosis, and the manner in which viruses infect human cells and convert them into virus making factories.