COVID-19 is the latest epidemic to show biomedical breakthroughs aren’t enough to eliminate a disease

Scientific discoveries are necessary to eliminate epidemic diseases. But addressing socioeconomic factors is just as essential in the fight against diseases such as syphilis, AIDS and TB.

Powel H. Kazanjian, Professor of Infectious Diseases and of History, University of Michigan • conversation
March 5, 2025 • ~9 min

Guinea worm: A nasty parasite is nearly eradicated, but the push for zero cases will require patience

After nearly 40 years of effort, Guinea worm disease is on the cusp of being the second human disease – after smallpox – to be eradicated on Earth.

Kimberly Paul, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Clemson University • conversation
Feb. 2, 2023 • ~7 min

How do pandemics end? History suggests diseases fade but are almost never truly gone

As ready as you are to be done with COVID-19, it's not going anywhere soon. A historian of disease describes how once a pathogen emerges, it's usually here to stay.

Nükhet Varlik, Associate Professor of History, University of South Carolina • conversation
Oct. 14, 2020 • ~9 min

A massive public health effort eradicated smallpox but scientists are still studying the deadly virus

The smallpox virus appears to have been with humanity for millennia before a global vaccination drive wiped it out. Current genome research suggests how smallpox spread and where it came from.

Patricia L. Foster, Professor Emerita of Biology, Indiana University • conversation
June 24, 2020 • ~12 min

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