a highly contagious
virus disease causing fever, vomiting, and pus-filled sores on the skin that often
leave pitted scars, or pockmarks.
Smallpox has occurred in epidemics throughout
history. A vaccination was
developed and widely employed against this disease in the
late eighteenth century. Through the
use of vaccination the disease was becoming milder and rarer but
cases were still being reported annually at the
time of this lecture.
—3rd South African published appr gls (14.4.92)