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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Adithi Ramakrishnan

Ancient mummy DNA offers strongest evidence yet that colonization brought smallpox to the Americas

Americas Europe

Ancient DNA from Chilean mummies offers the firmest evidence yet that European colonization introduced smallpox to the Americas.

Before its eradication in 1980, largely due to vaccination, smallpox stood as one of humanity's deadliest diseases. It historically claimed the lives of about one-third of those infected, often leaving survivors with deep, disfiguring scars.

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