the small round scar on your upper arm has a remarkable story

Through vaccination, surveillance, international cooperation, and years of determined public-health work, humanity eventually succeeded in stopping its natural spread.

In 1980, the World Health Organization declared the disease eradicated.

The small scars left behind by vaccination are therefore not simply remnants of an old medical procedure.

For many people, they are small pieces of living history.

They tell a story about disease, science, prevention, perseverance, and the extraordinary possibility of eliminating a deadly infectious disease.

So if you or an older member of your family has one of those distinctive marks, take a closer look.

You may be looking at a tiny reminder of a monumental moment in human history.

Do you or someone in your family still have a small, round scar on the upper arm? Do you know whether it came from a smallpox vaccination?