Experts have warned that the deadly smallpox could cause the outbreak of the next global pandemic.
This rapidly spreading virus, known in medical science as variola, was eradicated worldwide in 1980 after a global vaccination campaign led by the World Health Organization.
At present, the virus exists only in highly secure laboratories in the form of carefully preserved samples, and their number is very limited.
However, scientists have now cautioned that the eradication of smallpox has reduced people’s immunity against other pox viruses.
Viruses belonging to the orthopoxvirus family could replace smallpox and potentially trigger a new global pandemic. These include monkeypox, as well as the less known boreal pox, buffalopox and camelpox viruses.
It is noteworthy that nearly 500 million people lost their lives to smallpox during the 20th century.
