Cowpox to the mild form of smallpox and the observation that dairy farmers were immune from smallpox inspired the first smallpox vaccine, created and administered by English physician Edward Jenner. The word “vaccination,” coined by Jenner in 1796, is derived from the Latin root "vaccinus", meaning of or from the cow. Once vaccinated, a patient develops antibodies that make them immune to cowpox, but they also develop immunity to the smallpox virus, or "Variola virus". The cowpox vaccinations and later incarnations proved so successful that in 1980, the World Health Organization announced that smallpox was the first disease to be eradicated
1974 smallpox epidemic in India 1974 smallpox epidemic in India The 1974 smallpox epidemic of India was one of the worst smallpox epidemics of 20th century. Over 15,000 people contracted and died from smallpox between January and May 1974. Most of the deaths occurred in the Indian states of Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. There were thousands who survived but were disfigured or blinded. India reported 61,482 cases of smallpox to World Health Organization (WHO) in these five months. India had over 86% of the world's smallpox cases in 1974, primarily due to this epidemic. By January 1975, an operation was started aimed at containing