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| | eMedicine - Smallpox : Article Excerpt by: Julie R Kenner, MD, PhD (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-06) |
 | | Background: The history of smallpox is remarkable both because of the spectacular devastation it wreaked upon civilization since the dawn of humankind and for the astounding achievement of modern medicine, which eradicated this plague through the concerted efforts of global vaccination. |
 | | The earliest evidence of smallpox comes from ancient Egypt circa 1157 BCE, where the mummified remains of a pockmarked Ramses V were uncovered. |
 | | Variola major was the predominant endemic strain throughout the world, and, by the end of the 18th century, it was responsible for approximately 400,000 deaths a year in Europe. |
| www.emedicine.com /derm/byname/smallpox.htm (634 words) |
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