![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Ospa2.png/640px-Ospa2.png&w=640&q=50)
1963 smallpox epidemic in Wrocław
Disease outbreak in Poland / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An outbreak of smallpox occurred in the city of Wrocław in Poland in the summer of 1963. The disease was brought to Poland by an officer in the Ministry of Public Security who had returned from India. The epidemic lasted for two months, causing 99 people to fall ill and seven to die. It caused Wrocław to close and quarantine itself.[1][2]
![]() | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Polish. (December 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Quick Facts Disease, Virus strain ...
1963 smallpox epidemic in Wrocław | |
---|---|
![]() Protective clothing worn by health workers during the epidemic | |
Disease | Smallpox |
Virus strain | Variola vera |
Location | Polish People's Republic |
Index case | A public officer returning from India (or another Asian country) |
Dates | 17 July - 19 September 1963 |
Confirmed cases | 99 |
Deaths | 7 |
Close
It was one of the last smallpox outbreaks in Europe (the 1972 Yugoslav smallpox outbreak was last)[3] and the biggest disease outbreak in Europe until the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]
Poland started vaccination against smallpox in 1919 and eradicated it in 1937.[5]