Ten years of freedom from smallpox: lessons and experiences. Dedicated to the tenth anniversary of worldwide freedom from smallpox.

Many lessons and experiences were learned during the global programme of smallpox eradication, the most important being those which could be generalized and applied to other health programmes. This does not mean imitating or implementing smallpox eradication techniques to other diseases, since each infection requires its own strategy. It is difficult to dissect out the single key element or to equate the various factors responsible for the success, as these always worked together, in combination, depending one on others. For global eradication, the element of essential importance was international cooperation and close coordination of activities between nations. This would be impossible without proper mechanisms dedicated to international cooperation in the field of health, provided by the World Health Organization, which also assured mobilization of world resources for national programmes and application of appropriate techniques across international borders. The established specific, practical and measurable goals, objectives and targets made every programme worker clearly understand what was to be accomplished and to find his own role in achieving these objectives. Operational techniques had to be flexible, modified appropriately from country to country to make them suitable to present epidemiological situations, local administrative and health structures as well as to demographic and geographic patterns. It was the effective system of surveillance and outbreak-containment that ultimately proved to have been the key to eradication. However, application of skillful management, sound epidemiological principles, advanced technology and adequate logistic support contributed significantly to the achievement of the final goal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)