Background
Smallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple". The term "smallpox" was first used in Europe in the 15th century to distinguish variola from the great pox (syphilis).
The laboratory at Birmingham was conducting research on variants of smallpox virus known as "whitepox viruses", which were considered to be a threat to the success of the World Health Organisation's smallpox eradication programme.
Read more about this topic: Janet Parker
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