Study On The Prevention And Control Of Global Infectious Diseases During The Cold War

During the Cold War,global infectious diseases such as smallpox and malaria were still prevalent,seriously endangering human life and health.In order to overcome these diseases,a series of prevention and control actions were carried out,the most successful of which was the Smallpox Eradication Programme.In the 1950 s,smallpox spread around the world took on new characteristics.The successful eradication of smallpox in European and American countries proved the possibility of eradication of smallpox.During this period,the invention of freezedried vaccine also provided a technical guarantee for the eradication of smallpox.For the purpose of containing each other and seeking world hegemony,the United States and Soviet Union competed in many fields,but the two countries had both competition and communication in the field of health care,which proved the possibility of cooperation between the two countries in the smallpox eradication programme.In addition,the World Health Organization(WHO),a global medical and health organization,was established in 1948,which provided a platform for international cooperation in the proposal and implementation of the Smallpox Eradication Programme.The Smallpox Eradication Programme was a programme proposed by the Soviet Union and carried out by countries in the world under the framework of the World Health Organization,aiming to eradicate smallpox worldwide.In 1959,the 12 th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization passed a resolution to start the Smallpox Eradication Programme,which marked the official start of the Smallpox Eradication Programme.Through the implementation of large-scale vaccination and epidemiological surveillance measures,the Smallpox Eradication Programme achieved breakthrough progress in Asia,Africa and America after more than 20 years,and the last smallpox was eradicated in Merka,Somalia in 1977.After two years of certification work,the World Health Assembly declared the eradication of smallpox to the world in 1980,which also means the success of the Smallpox Eradication Programme.The success of the Smallpox Eradication Programme depended on the improvement of vaccine quality,effective vaccination technology,flexible epidemiological surveillance measures and extensive international cooperation,which played a key role.The success of the Smallpox Eradication Programme had a profound impact,which not only improved the level of human health and promoted the development of the medical and health system,but also influenced the medical and health cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union and the cooperation policy of the United States towards the third world countries.The Smallpox Eradication Programme also provided an example of international cooperation for the prevention and control of other global infectious diseases,and it directly motivated the World Health Organization to launch eradication programmes for other global infectious diseases.However,with the success of the Smallpox Eradication Programme,smallpox vaccination is no longer carried out,which faces a potential biosafety hazard and indirectly weakens human resistance to orthopoxvirus.The research on Smallpox Eradication Programme is helpful to enrich the research dimensions of Cold War History and Disease History.At the same time,the Smallpox Eradication Programme was a model for the prevention and treatment of global infectious diseases during the Cold War,which had enlightenment significance to today’s human beings,and provided cases and experiences of international cooperation for today’s human beings to overcome infectious diseases.