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By WHO Region | South America

Summary & Regional Information


The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has served as WHO's Regional Office for the Americas since 1949. Unlike other WHO Regional Offices, PAHO is a fully autonomous organization, acting under the directorship of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau (PASB), that acts for WHO.

In 1950, Dr Fred L. Soper, as Director of the PASB, strongly supported the concept of eradication, and began a program for the eradication of smallpox eradication from the Americas. By 1959, smallpox transmission had been interrupted in all but 5 countries. Four of these (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador) interrupted transmission by 1966.

Thus Brazil was the only South American country with endemic smallpox at the beginning of WHO's ISEP. However, it shared a border with all but 2 countries in the region and had large remote areas in the Amazon basin that had few, if any, health services.


Summary
Country Last endemic case Importations during SEP Country Last endemic case Importations during SEP
Argentina 1966 1967, 1970 Guyana 1951 None
Bolivia 1960 None Paraguay 1960 None
Brazil 1971 None post-1971 Peru 1966 None
Chile 1954 None Suriname 1920 None
Colombia 1965 None Uruguay 1957 1968, 1969
Ecuador 1963 None Venezuela 1956 None
French Guiana 1904 1968

South America was certified as smallpox-free by an International Commission on 25 Aug 1973 (PAHO/CD.22/19).


Year Title Authors Source URL
SMALLPOX CONTROL BEFORE 1950
2004 [The real philanthropic expedition of the smallpox vaccine: monarchy and modernity in 1803] Spanish Rigau-Perez JG P R Health Sci J 2004 23(3):223-31
1955 Smallpox eradication in the Americas Bull Oficina Sanit Panam 1955 38(2):170-1 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/14368
1958 Report on the status of smallpox eradication in the Americas Pan American Sanitary Conf/WHO Regional Committee meeting. San Juan PR, Sep-Oct 1958 CSP15/17 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/29157
PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/47076
1958 Smallpox vaccination in Latin America WHO Chron 1958 12:3-7
1959 Status of smallpox eradication in the Americas PAHO Directing Council/WHO Regional Regional Committee. Washington DC, Sep 1959 CD11/14 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/25986
1960 Report on the status of smallpox eradication in the Americas PAHO Directing Council/WHO Regional Committee. Havana, Cuba, Aug 1960 CD12/8 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/5304
1961 Report on the status of smallpox eradication in the Americas PAHO Directing Council/WHO Regional Committee. Washington DC, Oct 1961 CD13/18 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/5393
1962 Report on the status of smallpox eradication in the Americas Pan American Sanitary Conf/WHO Regional Committee Meeting. Minneapolis MN, Aug-Sep 1962 CSP16/11 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/46996
PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/29314
1964 Report on the status of smallpox eradication in the Americas PAHO Directing Council/WHO Regional Committee. Mexico DF, Aug-Sep 1964 CD15/22 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/5489
1965 Report on the status of smallpox eradication in the Americas PAHO Directing Council/WHO Regional Committee. Washington DC, Sep-Oct 1965 CD16/29 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/26162
1966 Estimated requirements for smallpox eradication in the Americas; estimate of the kind and amount of international assistance required for the smallpox eradication program in the Americas Exec Comm of the PAHO Directing Council/Working Party of the WHO Regional Comm. Washington DC, Apr 1966 CE54/3 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/23313
1966 Report on the status of smallpox eradication in the Americas Pan American Sanitary Conf/WHO Regional Committee meeting. Washington DC, Sep-Oct 1966 CSP17/20 Rev.1 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/29490
PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/46895
1967 Status of smallpox eradication in the Americas PAHO Directing Council/WHO Regional Committee. Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Oct 1967 CD17/11 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/5754
1967 Resolution: Recommitment to smallpox eradication PAHO Directing Council/WHO Regional Committee. Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Oct 1967 CD17.R22
1968 Notes on smallpox vaccine production methods in South American laboratories
WHO Travelling Seminar on Vaccine Production, 19-30 Mar 1968
Fenje P WP/31
1967 [Laboratory diagnosis of smallpox in the Americas] Spanish Noble J, Sales Gomes JF, Rodrigues BA, Bica AN Bol Oficina Sanit Panam 1967 2(166-167):531-6 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/14521
1970 Smallpox eradication Pan American Sanitary Conf/WHO Regional Committee Meeting. Washington DC, Sep-Oct 1970 CSP18/9
1971 Smallpox eradication PAHO Directing Council/WHO Regional Committee. Washington DC, Sep-Oct 1971 CD20/6 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/5875
1971 Resolution: Compulsory vaccination PAHO Directing Council/WHO Regional Committee. Washington DC, Sep-Oct 1971 CD20.R23
1973 Resolution: Smallpox eradicated from the Americas PAHO Directing Council/WHO Regional Committee. Washington DC, Oct 1973 CD22.R17
1973 Report on the status of smallpox eradication in the Americas
PAHO 22nd Directing Council, 25th session of the Regional Committee, 8-18 Oct 1973
PAHO CD22/19
1973 Report of the Commission for the Assessment of the Smallpox Eradication Program in the Americas PAHO/CD.22.19
1974 [The cost of vaccination programs] [Spanish Rodrigues BA, Huerta R Bol Oficina Sanit Panam 1974 76(2):125-34 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/10796
1975 [Smallpox eradication in the Americas] Spanish Rodrigues BA Bol Oficina Sanit Panam 1975 78(4):358-83 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/17606
1980 Smallpox eradication PAHO Epidemiol Bull 1980 1(4):4-5 PAHO: iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/38396
1993 Disease eradication and control in the Americas de Quadros CA, Henderson DA Biologicals 1993 21(4):335-43 DOI: 10.1006/biol.1993.1093
2010 30th anniversary of smallpox eradication and establishment of the PAHO Revolving Fund for Vaccine Procurement
146th Session of the Executive Committee, Washington DC, 21-25 Jun 2010
PAHO CE146/INF-5