August 2016
Dr. Donald A. Henderson administering a smallpox vaccination in Ethiopia, around 1972. Credit: WHO.
Dr. Donald A. Henderson, who led the World Health Organization’s war on smallpox, died on August 19, 2016 at the age of 87. The physician and epidemiologist spent much of his time visiting smallpox-stricken countries, some of which were also caught up in civil wars.
In an interview published by Marcos Cueto and Gilberto Hochman in Manguinhos (2010), Henderson talks about the endemic nature of smallpox in Brazil; relations between WHO and the Brazilian government; the quality of the Brazilian smallpox vaccine; and international cooperation in eradicating smallpox.
Read more about smallpox in Manguinhos:
Agostoni, Claudia. Control, contención y educación higiénica en las campañas de vacunación contra la viruela en México durante la década de 1940. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Jun 2015, vol.22, no.2, p.355-370. ISSN 0104-5970
