
The History of Smallpox - jasoncrawford
https://rootsofprogress.org/smallpox-and-vaccines
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exhilaration
Not mentioned in the article: _In the 20th century alone, experts estimate, it
took up to a half billion lives, more than all the wars and epidemics put
together._ [1]

Think about that: it killed more than WWI and WWII and all other 20th century
wars _combined_.

[1] [https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/15/science/smallpox-the-
once...](https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/15/science/smallpox-the-once-and-
future-scourge.html)

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war1025
Literally the first paragraph of the article:

> Smallpox was one of the worst diseases in human history. It killed an
> estimated 300 million people or more in the 20th century alone; only
> tuberculosis and malaria have been more deadly. Its victims were often
> children, even infants.

~~~
exhilaration
It's the contrast to wars, which is not mentioned, that I find most
interesting.

~~~
war1025
I see. That makes sense then.

