eli5: How was smallpox eradicated but other diseases are significantly harder to completely get rid of?
In: Biology
Smallpox had a good vaccine for it which, when administered widely eliminates the diseases in all humans in that area.
In addition, smallpox has no animal hosts, so it can’t hide in other animals and eventually come back after some mutations or when we stop vaccinating.
Smallpox was quite simply a perfect target for eradication.
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