Janet Parker

Janet Parker (1938/1939 - September 11, 1978) was the last victim of smallpox. A 40 year old medical photographer in the University of Birmingham Medical School, Birmingham, England, she was working in a darkroom above a lab where research with live smallpox virus was being conducted. On August 24, 1978 Janet was admitted to the hospital with a fever and a rash. She died of smallpox in September. Many people were exposed to Janet before she was admitted, but only her mother contracted the disease. Janet's mother survived, but her father died of a heart attack while visiting Janet in the hospital.

Related Topics:
1938 - 1939 - September 11 - 1978 - Smallpox - Birmingham, England - August 24

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Although the exact route by which Janet was exposed is unknown, the laboratory in which the experiments were being performed had inadequate containment procedures. It is postulated that either the virus traveled up a ventilation duct, that Janet was exposed by using a telephone used by lab staff, or through direct contact with lab staff. In light of the incident, Professor Henry Bedson, the head of the microbiology department and the person responsible for the laboratory, committed suicide. His suicide note read "I am sorry to have misplaced the trust which so many of my friends and colleagues have placed in me and my work."

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In 1980 smallpox was declared eradicated by the World Health Organization. WHO recommended the cessation of vaccinations, and that stockpiles of the virus be limited. Currently, all known stocks of smallpox were destroyed, except the stocks at the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Vector Institute in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk in Siberia.

Related Topics:
World Health Organization - United States - Center for Disease Control - Siberia

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