Ali Maow Maalin
Encyclopedia
Ali Maow Maalin is the last person on earth known to be infected with naturally occurring Variola minor smallpox
. At age 23, Maalin was a cook at the hospital in the town of Merca
, Somalia
, as well as an occasional vaccinator for a World Health Organization
smallpox eradication team. Maalin had been given the smallpox vaccine
, though later, it was found to have been botched, and therefore, unsuccessful. In October 1977, he went out to meet two children with smallpox symptoms being brought in from an outlying village. On 26 October 1977, he was diagnosed with an infection of alastrim
, the Variola minor strain of smallpox. This necessitated a concerted effort by the World Health Organization
to ensure that his case, the last on earth, would not spread further. He subsequently recovered fully.
Maalin volunteered in the successful effort to eradicate polio in Somalia in 2008.
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
. At age 23, Maalin was a cook at the hospital in the town of Merca
Merca
Merca is a port city on the coast of southern Somalia, facing the Indian Ocean. It is the main town in the Shabeellaha Hoose region, and is located approximately southwest of the nation's capital, Mogadishu.-History:...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, as well as an occasional vaccinator for a World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
smallpox eradication team. Maalin had been given the smallpox vaccine
Smallpox vaccine
The smallpox vaccine was the first successful vaccine to be developed. The process of vaccination was discovered by Edward Jenner in 1796, who acted upon his observation that milkmaids who caught the cowpox virus did not catch smallpox...
, though later, it was found to have been botched, and therefore, unsuccessful. In October 1977, he went out to meet two children with smallpox symptoms being brought in from an outlying village. On 26 October 1977, he was diagnosed with an infection of alastrim
Alastrim
Alastrim, also known as variola minor, is the milder strain of the variola virus that causes smallpox.Variola minor is of the genus orthopoxvirus, which are DNA viruses that replicate in the cytoplasm of the affected cell, rather than in its nucleus...
, the Variola minor strain of smallpox. This necessitated a concerted effort by the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
to ensure that his case, the last on earth, would not spread further. He subsequently recovered fully.
Maalin volunteered in the successful effort to eradicate polio in Somalia in 2008.
External links
- History of Vaccines website - Smallpox, published by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia
- The End of Smallpox: Part II - The Last Case, PBS Rx for Survival, streaming video