In this episode, we chart the WHO smallpox eradication campaign - an international operation of massive manpower, unlikely allies, and sheer human determination. From the concept of "ring-fence" vaccination beginning with forest firefighters in America, to a junior doctor striking a bargain with smugglers on the India-Bangladesh border, it's a story that spans several continents and reveals how people's unique ability to shape the world can, just occasionally, be used for good.
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In this episode, we chart the WHO smallpox eradication campaign - an international operation of massive manpower, unlikely allies, and sheer human determination. From the concept of "ring-fence" vaccination beginning with forest firefighters in America, to a junior doctor striking a bargain with smugglers on the India-Bangladesh border, it's a story that spans several continents and reveals how people's unique ability to shape the world can, just occasionally, be used for good.
In 1980, the World Health Assembly gathered to announce that one of mankind’s greatest and deadliest enemies had been finally, and completely defeated. That enemy was smallpox.
In this opening episode, we look at the devastating impact of smallpox throughout history, as it wrought havoc on the human race. Discover how a 12th-century samurai drove the demon of smallpox away from the island of Ishima. Find out how the Yoruba people worship the god of smallpox, and in India prayers are given to the goddess Shitala - the one who cools. For centuries, smallpox was a monster, a demon - sometimes even a god. But the first lights of resistance were already being lit.
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Written and narrated by Annie Kelly
Produced by Paul Cooper
Sound engineering by Alexey Sibikin
Voice actors:
Stephen Knowles
Deryn Oliver
Paul Cooper
Rhy Brignell
Vaccine: The Human Story
In this episode, we chart the WHO smallpox eradication campaign - an international operation of massive manpower, unlikely allies, and sheer human determination. From the concept of "ring-fence" vaccination beginning with forest firefighters in America, to a junior doctor striking a bargain with smugglers on the India-Bangladesh border, it's a story that spans several continents and reveals how people's unique ability to shape the world can, just occasionally, be used for good.
