Genomic history of smallpox in the Americas
The developments in this story so far, most recent first.
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Milestone
How smallpox reached the Americas: first genomic evidence points to Europeans
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· date approximate Background
Smallpox was officially eradicated.
Smallpox was officially eradicated in 1980.
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· date approximate Background
The first historically documented smallpox outbreak in the Americas occurred during the Spanish conquest of the Caribbean.
During the Spanish conquest of the Caribbean in 1518, the first historically documented smallpox outbreak occurred in the Americas. The virus, known as Orthopoxvirus variola, was brought to the Americas from Europe.
The introduction of the disease resulted in millions of deaths across two continents.