The geography of smallpox in England before vaccination: A conundrum resolved.

ABSTRACT: Smallpox is regarded as an ancient and lethal disease of humans, however very little is known about the prevalence and impact of smallpox before the advent of vaccination (c.1800). Here we use evidence from English burial records covering the period 1650-1799 to confirm a striking geography to smallpox patterns. Smallpox apparently circulated as a childhood disease in northern England and Sweden, even where population densities were low and settlement patterns dispersed. However, smallpox was a relatively rare epidemic disease in southern England outside the largest cities, despite its commercialised economy and the growing spatial interconnectedness of its settlements. We investigated a number of factors hypothesised to influence the regional circulation of smallpox, including exposure to

SUBMITTER: Davenport RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5958952 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature