Although Europeans are the only group to have subpopulations with a high frequency of CCR5 Δ32, they are not the only population that has been subject to selection by smallpox, which had a worldwide distribution before it was declared eradicated in 1980. The earliest unmistakable descriptions of smallpox appear in the 5th century A.D. in China, the 7th century A.D. in India and the Mediterranean, and the 10th century A.D. in southwestern Asia. By contrast, the "CCR5 Δ"32 mutation is found only in European, West Asian, and North African populations. The anomalously high frequency of CCR5 Δ32 in these populations appears to require both a unique origin in Northern Europe and subsequent selection by smallpox.