Smallpox was officially declaerd eradicated in October 1979, NOT in 1980 like your column stated.
The last wild case of Smallpox was reported in Somalia in 1977. And at least the little rounding error (re. WHO certified eradication) got you to register here, Don. Welcome to the SDMB.
Jill
Welcome to the SDMB, and thank you for posting your comment.
Please include a link to Cecil’s column if it’s on the straight dope web site.
To include a link, it can be as simple as including the web page location in your post (make sure there is a space before and after the text of the URL).
Cecil has three online columns discussing smallpox:
Did whites ever give Native Americans blankets infected with smallpox? (24-Oct-1997)
The column (including Slug Signorino’s illustration) can also be found on pages 66-68 of Cecil Adams’ book «Triumph of the Straight Dope».
Why did so many Native Americans die of European diseases but not vice versa? (29-Jul-1994)
The column (including Slug Signorino’s illustration) can also be found on pages 100-102 of Cecil Adams’ book «The Straight Dope Tells All».
How long does a smallpox vaccination protect you? (09-Nov-2001)
(this last column is the one containing the fact mentioned in the OP)
moderator, «Comments on Cecil’s Columns»
P.S. Don Entz, What the column says is not wrong. Cecil says:
The World Health Organization says:
Let this be a lesson to you. If you find an apparent anomaly in a column, don’t say, “Cecil screwed up!” but rather, “What have I failed to understand?”
These are words I live by.
I mean, it’s not like Uncle Cecil is Vos Savant.