smallpox finally eradicated the disease in the 1970s, and rinderpest was wiped out in 2011. eradication of polio is underway. tissue culture is important for development of vaccines. though the early success of antiviral vaccines and antibacterial drugs, antiviral drugs were not introduced until the 1970s. through the who, the international community has developed a response protocol against epidemics, displayed during the sars epidemic in 2003, the influenza a virus subtype h5n1 from 2004, the ebola virus epidemic in west africa and onwards. people mary putnam jacobi (1842-1906) known for debunking myths around menstruation and female intelligence. florence nightingale (1820-1910) known for their social action and reforms to nursing. elizabeth blackwell (1821-1910) known as the first women to gain a medical degree in the united states. susan la flesche picotte (1865-1915) known for their activism and as the first indigenous woman to gain a medical degree in the united states. linda richards (1841-1930) known for their pioneering work in nursing. karl landsteiner (1868-1943) known for discovering the abo blood group system. alexander fleming (1881-1955) known for the discovery of penicillin and lysozyme. gerty cori (1896-1957) known for their discovery of the catalytic conversion of glycogen and first woman awarded a nobel prize in physiology or medicine. virginia apgar (1909-1974) known for the apgar score and improving infant mortality. contemporary medicine antibiotics and antibiotic resistance the discovery of penicillin in the 20th century by alexander fleming provided a vital line of defence against bacterical infections that, without them, often cause patients to suffer prelonged recovery periods and highly increased chances of death. its discovery and application within medicine allowed previously impossible treatments to take place, including cancer treatments, organ transplants, to open heart surgery. throughout the 20th century, though, their overprescribed use to humans, as well as to animals that need them due to the conditions of intensive animal farming, has led to the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. robotics medical personnel place sterilized covers on the arms of the davinci xi surgical system, a minimally-invasive robotic surgery system, at the william beaumont army medical center. pandemics a ukrainian monument to the hiv pandemic. covid-19 swab testing in rwanda (2021). the early 21st century, facilitated by extensive global connections, international travel, and unprecedented human disruption of ecological systems, has been defined by a number of noval as well as continuing global pandemics from the 20th century. past the sars 2002 to 2004 outbreak affected a number of countries around the world and killed hundreds. this outbreak gave rise to a number of lessons learnt from viral infection control, including more effective isolation room protocols to better hand washing techniques for medical staff. a mutated strain of sars would go on to develop into covid-19, causing the future covid-19 pandemic. a significant influenza strain, h1n1, caused a further pandemic between 2009 and 2010. known as swine flu, due to its indirect source from pigs, it went on to infect over 700 million people. ongoing the continuing hiv pandemic, starting in 1981, has infected and led to the deaths of millions of people around the world. emerging and improved pre-exposure prophylaxis (prep) and post-exposure prophylaxis (pep) treatments that aim to reduce the spread of the disease have proven effective in limiting the spread of hiv alongside combined use of safe sex methods, sexual health education, needle exchange programmes, and sexual health screenings. efforts to find a hiv vaccine are ongoing whilst health inequities have left certain population groups, like trans women, as well as resource limited regions, like sub-saharan africa, at greater risk of contracting hiv compared with, for example, developed countries. the outbreak of covid-19, starting in 2019, and subsequent declaration of the covid-19 pandemic by the who is a major pandemic event within the early 21st century. causing global disruptions, millions of infections and deaths, the pandemic has caused suffering throughout communities. the pandemic has also seen some of the largest logistical organisations of goods, medical equipment, medical professionals, and military personnel since world war ii that highlights its far-reaching impact. personalised medicine the rise of personalised medicine in the 21st century has generated the possibility to develop diagnosis and treatments based on the individual characteristics of a person, rather than through generic practices that defined 20th century medicine. areas like dna sequencing, genetic mapping, gene therapy, imaging protocols, proteomics, stem cell therapy, and wireless health monitoring devices are all rising innovations that can help medical professionals fine tune treatment to the individual. telemedicine remote surgery is another recent development, with the transatlantic lindbergh operation in 2001 as a groundbreaking example. people patricia goldman-rakic (1937-2003) known for research around the prefrontal cortex and working memory. luc montagnier (1932-2022) known as one of the co-discoverers of hiv. 屠呦呦 (1930–present) known for discovering malaria treatments. joycelyn elders (1933–present) known as the first black american women to serve as the surgeon general of the united states. antonia novello (1944–present) known as the first woman and first hispanic to serve as the surgeon general of the united states. françoise barré-sinoussi (1947–present) known as one of the co-discoverers of hiv. tedros adhanom ghebreyesus (1965–present) first african director-general of the world health organization. themes in medical history racism in medicine racism has a long history in how medicine has evolved and established itself, both in terms of racism experience upon patients, professionals, and wider systematic violence within medical institutions and systems. see: medical racism in the united states, race and health, and scientific racism. women in medicine main article: women in medicine women have always served as healers and midwives since ancient times. however, the professionalization of medicine forced them increasingly to the sidelines. as hospitals multiplied they relied in europe on orders of roman catholic nun-nurses, and german protestant and anglican deaconesses in the early 19th century. they were trained in traditional methods of physical care that involved little knowledge of medicine.