NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Lifestyle

How this shocking disease claimed its final victim

By Natalie Brown
NZ Herald·
26 Oct, 2019 09:42 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Smallpox was thought to be eradicated in 1977. So how did it return? Photo / Getty Images

Smallpox was thought to be eradicated in 1977. So how did it return? Photo / Getty Images

WARNING: Graphic

It was on Friday, August 11, 1978 when Janet Parker began to feel unwell.

Within days, the 40-year-old medical photographer had developed unsightly red spots on her back, limbs and face.

Soon, she was so weak she couldn't stand without assistance, reports News.com.au.

A month later to the day, on September 11 — now blind in both eyes; in renal failure; and having developed pneumonia — Ms Parker died.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

What doctors initially diagnosed as chickenpox was actually smallpox — one of the deadliest and most contagious diseases known to humankind, and thought to have been eradicated less than a year earlier.

After killing over half a billion people in the 20th century alone — three times the number of deaths from all of the century's wars combined — on October 26, 1977 the last natural case of smallpox was discovered in Somalia.

Janet Parker, the last victim of smallpox. Photo / Instagram
Janet Parker, the last victim of smallpox. Photo / Instagram

Presenting as flu-like symptoms, the disease then progressed into a rash consisting of deep sores — filled with fluid that would blister, ooze, crust and scab over, and permanently scar the bodies of those lucky enough to survive.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Just one teaspoon of the virus was enough to infect every man, woman and child on earth.

With no cure, and killing a third of those it infected, people tried to combat the disease with treatments that included being bled, purged, starved, and wrapped tightly in red cloth.

When British doctor Edward Jenner created a vaccine against the illness, he arguably saved more lives than anyone else in history. A global vaccination program — led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), was employed to wipe out the disease, and by the 1970s cases were rare.

Today, more than 40 years later, the eradication of the disease is still considered one of the most spectacular successes of a vaccination.

Discover more

New Zealand

Operation Measles: Inside the public health response to an escalating outbreak

06 Sep 06:00 PM
World

Five surprising moments in vaccine history

07 Sep 09:03 PM
World

Explosion at Russian research centre that holds world's deadliest viruses

17 Sep 01:34 AM
World

Arrested as teens, three men are set to be exonerated after 36 years behind bars for wrongful murder conviction

25 Nov 07:18 PM

How, then, did the disease — which doctors were about to declare gone for good — return ten months later to claim its final victim?

British surgeon Dr Edward Jenner, who was responsible for founding the vaccination for smallpox. Photo / Getty Images
British surgeon Dr Edward Jenner, who was responsible for founding the vaccination for smallpox. Photo / Getty Images

Had Ms Parker's mother Hilda Witcomb not been sceptical of the doctor's misdiagnosis — having nursed her daughter through chickenpox as a child — the large, blistering pustules appearing on Parker's body may have gone unacknowledged.

After nine days — and showing no signs of improvement — Ms Parker was admitted to the Catherine-de-Barnes Isolation Hospital in Solihull, near Birmingham, England.

"I do remember thinking she was very poorly, she had a very dramatic rash," Professor Deborah Symmons, the first member of medical staff to see Ms Parker when she was admitted, said. "It was widely thought the last case had occurred."

After an initial examination, though, the doctors' worst fears were confirmed: variola — the scientific name for the disease — was back.

Its return prompted the WHO — and the media — to descend on the city, elevating Ms Parker's diagnosis to a worldwide issue.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As medical teams jumped into action, those closest to her were questioned about their recent movements for fear the disease could spread further, and swiftly quarantined and vaccinated.

Photos show siblings vaccinated and unvaccinated in 1901. Photo / Atlas of Clinical Medicine, Surgery, and Pathology
Photos show siblings vaccinated and unvaccinated in 1901. Photo / Atlas of Clinical Medicine, Surgery, and Pathology

Everyone who came into contact with Ms Parker from the moment she was hospitalised — from ambulance staff to the hospital chaplain — were treated similarly.

Only two weeks after Ms Parker had first shown symptoms of the disease, more than 500 people had been vaccinated, and while her life slowly ebbed away, one question plagued the hospital's staff: How had she been infected in the first place?

Professor Henry Bedson, who headed the smallpox laboratory at Birmingham Medical School where Ms Parker worked, was joined by consultant in infectious disease Professor Alasdair Geddes to examine Ms Parker's samples.

Prof Bedson was horrified to discover that the particles that had infected Ms Parker had escaped from his own laboratory — likely having reached her through the building's venting — and leaving Prof Bedson so distraught that days later he took his own life.

Lesions on the skin of a patient suffering from smallpox in 1973. Photo / Public Health Images Library
Lesions on the skin of a patient suffering from smallpox in 1973. Photo / Public Health Images Library

"I am sorry to have misplaced the trust which so many of my friends and colleagues have placed in me and my work," he wrote in the note he left.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Before Ms Parker succumbed to the disease, the Birmingham outbreak in some ways claimed a third victim when her father Frederick died from an apparent cardiac arrest, thought to have been brought on by the stress of his daughter's illness.

Six days after her father's death, and five after Prof Bedson's — and without the arms of a loved one around her or there to hold her hand — smallpox claimed Ms Parker as its final victim.

An undertaker sent to the isolation hospital found her body lying on the floor of a garage, packed in sawdust, soaked in disinfectant and wrapped in a transparent body bag.

The city was declared free of the disease on October 16, 1978, and in October 1979, Prof Bedson was exonerated, with Birmingham Magistrates' Court dismissing the prosecution's evidence that the university had contravened the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The smallpox virus under a microscope. Photo / News.com.au
The smallpox virus under a microscope. Photo / News.com.au

While in 1980 a government-commissioned paper found there was "no doubt" that Ms Parker had been infected at the laboratory, how exactly she contracted the disease still remains unanswered.

At the time, doctors predicted Ms Parker contracted the disease after it travelled through the air, but according to the paper, there were two other routes that the virus could have transferred along: by personal contact or by contact with contaminated equipment or apparatuses.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Why did she die, why did she get it so badly?" Symmons said in 2018.

"If we couldn't find out what happened 40 years ago, it won't suddenly become clear now."

On December 9, 1979 the Global Commission for the Smallpox Eradication signed their names to the statement that "smallpox has been eradicated from the world".

To date, there have been no further outbreaks of the disease.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Lifestyle

No more crying in the kitchen: 'Tearless' onions launch in NZ - at a cost

07 Jul 06:27 AM
Premium
Lifestyle

My weird week on a Government-prescribed ‘perfect diet’

07 Jul 06:00 AM
Premium
Lifestyle

What makes someone cool? These six traits it seems

07 Jul 01:08 AM

Sponsored: Get your kids involved in your reno

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

No more crying in the kitchen: 'Tearless' onions launch in NZ - at a cost

No more crying in the kitchen: 'Tearless' onions launch in NZ - at a cost

07 Jul 06:27 AM

Tearless onions are now being grown in Auckland and sold nationwide.

Premium
My weird week on a Government-prescribed ‘perfect diet’

My weird week on a Government-prescribed ‘perfect diet’

07 Jul 06:00 AM
Premium
What makes someone cool? These six traits it seems

What makes someone cool? These six traits it seems

07 Jul 01:08 AM
Premium
I thought my stitch was from over-exercising. It turned out to be cancer

I thought my stitch was from over-exercising. It turned out to be cancer

07 Jul 12:25 AM
Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper
sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP