Smallpox became the first human disease officially declared eradicated, certified by the World Health Organization on 8 May 1980, following a global vaccination and surveillance campaign. The last naturally occurring case was recorded in Somalia in 1977. It remains, as of 2026, the only human disease ever fully eradicated in the wild.
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Smallpox became the first human disease officially declared eradicated, certified by the World Health Organization on 8 May 1980, following a global vaccination and surveillance campaign. The last naturally occurring case was recorded in Somalia in 1977. It remains, as of 2026, the only human disease ever fully eradicated in the wild.
The date on which the World Health Organization formally certified the first human infectious disease as eradicated worldwide, meaning zero naturally occurring cases confirmed globally.
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Limits Registry. LR-FIRST-ERADICATED-HUMAN-DISEASE. First human infectious disease declared eradicated worldwide. 2026.