Smallpox Through History
It is unknown just how long smallpox has taken its toll on the human population throughout history. Egyptian mummies from 1570 to 1085 A.D. have been found with the tell-tale sign of the disease, pouch-like pock marks on the skin- among these mummies was the ruler Pharaoh Ramsey the Fifth.1,2,3 Smallpox is thought to be derived from a pox-like disease of a domesticated animal in Asia or Africa.2 In 100 A.D., an outbreak, known as the Antonine Plague, originated in Mesopotamia and made its way to Italy where it killed Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 180 A.D. His death, and the toll of the outbreak may have, along with the impact of malaria, played a role in the Roman Empire’s decline and the end of the Peloponnesian War.1,3 In the fifth century, the Huns brought smallpox with them to Europe, however, evidence indicates that it was already there before their arrival.1 The Islamic expansion through North Africa into Spain and Portugal caused a major spread of the disease through the eighth and ninth centuries.1
The earliest recorded case of endemic smallpox occurred in fourth century China, seventh century India and Mediterranean, and tenth century Southwest Asia.2 However, by 1000 A.D., smallpox was endemic throughout Eurasia in densely populated areas.1 Caravans traveling trade routes across continents, from country to country, carried the disease and were responsible for spreading it to West Africa and smallpox was repeatedly reintroduced in port cities by traders and slavers.1 Crusaders moving to and from Asia minor reintroduced it to Europe as well.1,2
In the 1500s, Spanish conquistadors were aided in their quests by the devastating impact of smallpox. The Aztecs were a large and military-centric society, the likes of which would not have easily been defeated by Hernan Cortez in 1521 if smallpox had not been responsible for killing off a large portion of the population when it was introduced a year before from Spanish Cuba. Similarly, the disease hit the Inca before Franciso Pizarro conquered them. When Panfilo deNarvaez went to Mexico, it also killed the natives.4 The arrival of foreigners who were uneffected by the deadly illness led many native populations to believe that they were suffering divine punishment from the invaders’ God and as a result led to the adoption of Christianity by many.1,2
This disease is one of the Old World, one which immunologically virgin communities, like that of the Native Americans, had never been exposed to before. In such populations, large epidemics would break out because everyone was susceptible before calming down once everyone had either succumbed and died or survived and became immune. When new people were born, epidemics would break out again. In this way, smallpox became a childhood disease.1
However, the issue with the Native Americans (of North and South America) is that before they could develop immunity in their adult populations, while the disease was establishing its presence in the New World, foreigners used the effects of the disease to their advantage. French and English establishment of colonial settlements is attributed to the effects smallpox had on the natives.3 The English, for example, set off an endemic among the American Indians in 1617. They also used germ warfare against them by giving the American Indians blankets infected with smallpox.1,3 The decimation of these people meant that settlers had less opposition to face and that it was easier to displace the natives. It also propagated the need for the importation of African slaves in North America to fill the labor force of industry.1
In the American colonies, there had been little exposure to the pathogen and thus, little immunity against it. As a result, smallpox left its mark on the outcome of the American Revolutionary War. Take the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, for instance. General Howe of the British Continential Army had occupied Boston, Massachusetts, but there was an outbreak of smallpox among the people there. By 1776, the British had evacuated, and Washington sent 1000 of his variolated men to occupy the city.1 Conversely, under General Bendict Arnold, in 1775, the Americans sent 2000 men to attack Quebec, but they had to halt their advance due to an outbreak of the disease which resulted in high mortality. The British forces in Quebec, however, were variolated, and able to hold out for reinforcements to arrive.1 Thus, America never claimed Canadian soil, but if it were not for the disease taking hold of the soldiers, it is possible that modern day American could have extended farther north than it currently does.
This disease revolutionized modern medicine. Without smallpox, who knows how long it would have taken for the first vaccine to be discovered and for the human race to recognize that pathogens can be used against themselves to stave off their affects on potential victims. Because of smallpox, the practices of variolation (innoculation) and nasal insufflation (used by the Chinese2) set the stage for developing a cure. In 1796, English doctor Edward Jenner noted that milkmaids exposed to cowpox did not contract smallpox, and after performing experimentation, discovered that exposure to the similar, but different disease induced immunity to smallpox.1,4,5 This first vaccine opened up the possibilities of modern medicine. Now, there are vaccines for a numerous amount of pathogens, from smallpox to polio, measles, hepatitis, and influenza- to name a few.
As of May 8, 1980 -after the World Health Organization began the program in 1967, smallpox is the only disease that has been eradicated. However, there are still two stores of smallpox that have been preserved for research purposes- one at the Center for Disease Control in the United States of America, and one in Russia.5 This is a controversial topic as some believe that all stores should be destroyed- a measure that would protect against any risk of deliberate reintrocuction of the disease as a means of biological warfare.5
For Your Listening Pleasure…
References
1The Power of Plagues: Chapter 9 – Smallpox, The Spotted Plague.
2Smallpox, The Speckled Monster Powerpoint.
3Smallpox, The Film.
4https://www.history.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-smallpox
5https://www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html