Most people believe smallpox not an extinct disease

The vast majority of Scottish people interviewed in the streets of Edinburgh are unaware of one of the greatest achievements of medical science – the eradication of smallpox from the world over 40 years ago. A poll sponsored by the Society for General Microbiology (SGM), in conjunction with the Edinburgh International Science Festival, has revealed that 87% of 200 individuals questioned did not know that the horrendous, killer disease is now extinct.