Documents from the Smallpox Eradication Programme were archived at WHO headquarters at the conclusion of the program. WHO provides a guide to its collection on smallpox. The guide lists WHO collections with smallpox-related material and includes information on holdings, inventories, and instructions on accessing materials.
WHO's online digital library, the Institutional Repository for Information Sharing (IRIS), includes the SEP numbered report series. Its content is freely accessible and searchable in the six official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish). Video tutorials describe IRIS search techniques.
The Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) disseminates epidemiological information on cases and outbreaks of diseases under the International Health Regulations. The Smallpox Surveillance Report format originated by the SEP has been adopted for other communicable diseases of public health importance. The WER has been published continuously for more than 90 years. It first issue in 1926 under the auspices of the League of Nations provided information to port health authorities about quarantinable diseases: plague, cholera, yellow fever, typhus, and smallpox.
The Bulletin of the World Health Organization, a leading public health journal, is a peer-reviewed open-access monthly with a special focus on developing countries.
WHO maintains an online Photographic Library. In addition, it has two collections of some 30,000 black and white prints that are not online but are open for consultation. Taken in the field by photographers working for WHO, they date from the 1940s through the 1990s.
CDC (now the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; originally the Center for Communicable Diseases) conducted the West and Central Africa Smallpox Eradication/Measles Control Program. Unfortunately, most of its smallpox program files were destroyed during a government paper reduction drive. They have been partially reconstructed from the personal archives of those involved in the program. Official correspondence among program directors and CDC central administration may be found in the National Archives.
The Global Health Chronicles is a collection of materials on public health efforts to prevent, control, and eradicate global disease: AIDS, Ebola, Guinea worm, malaria, polio, and smallpox. It is a collaboration between the David J. Sencer CDC Museum and Emory University's Center for Digital Scholarship. Site contents are open-access and include documents, photographs, oral histories, media, and related resources.
CDC Stacks is a digital archive of scientific research and literature produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is a compilation of curated collections intended for public health research.
The Public Health Image Library (PHIL) provides access to CDC's historical photo collection.
The University of Michigan Library houses the Brilliant Collection, donated by Dr Lawrence B Brilliant, an epidemiologist with the WHO Regional Office for Southeast Asia. It includes original documents from the eradication campaign conducted by WHO's South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO). The vast range of material includes search and containment records for Indian states, training materials and briefing documents, reports on program progress, epidemiological data, and outreach materials. The Library has produced an online exhibit Smallpox Eradication in India, 1972-1977.
The Institute of the History of Medicine houses the Dr Henry Barton Jacobs Collection, an extensive body of resources documenting the history of smallpox vaccination. The Jacobs Collection includes over 100 letters written by Edward Jenner, editions and translations of his publications, two life-portraits, and one unique object: clippings of hair from the cow Blossom, the first lymph donor for Jenner's experiments. The Institute also holds an extensive collection of materials documenting the promotion of, and campaigns against, vaccination throughout Europe and America. These include original caricatures on the subject of vaccination.
The Institute houses DA Henderson's medals and awards, as well as Smallpox Eradication Programme memorabilia and artifacts. The Institute mounted a joint exhibit from these collections that was featured on NPR's All Things Considered.
An all-female team of Peace Corps volunteers served in Afghanistan with the SEP during 1969-70. Letters, diaries, and photos are archived in Radcliffe's Schlesinger Library. An illustrated article describes the program and the collection. The all-female team joined teams of male Afghani vaccinators in the Hindu Kush mountains and the southern desert. The goal was to vaccinate Afghani women and girls who were forbidden even to be seen by men outside their families. The story was documented in Once in Afghanistan, a 2002 film by Peace Corps trainer Jill Vickers and film-maker Jody Bergedick (Dirt Road Documentaries).
The Jenner House, Museum and Garden is dedicated to preserving Edward Jenner's home and scientific work. Jenner was a true 18th century polymath. (He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society for his work on the nesting habits of cuckoos.) The museum has a strong educational component, combining science and history in its displays and lectures. The Temple of Vaccinia joins the Royal Observatory, Bletchley Park, and the Broad Street Pump among the 10 scientific buildings included in Historic England's Irreplaceable: A History of England in 100 Places.
