The last reported case of smallpox was in October the previous year, ten months ago.
Maalin was unvaccinated but made a miraculous recovery.
A sign outside the Catherine de Barnes isolation hospital in 1978 where the last victim of smallpox was admitted.
But they made no official announcement, untilat least two yearshad passed to confirm that smallpox was really gone.
Then, the disease struck again for one last time.
On August 11, Parker developed a fever accompanied by headache and pains in her muscles.
Within days her body was covered with rashes and ugly red spots.
Her doctor told Parker that she had chickenpox and there was nothing to be worried about.
Janet Parker on her wedding day.
But the source of the infection was no mystery.
It was one of only a handful of laboratories commissioned by the WHO to research the disease.
Bedson agreed but he failed to keep his word.
Prof Bedson was one of the first to learn about Janet Parkers diagnosis.
The news left him horrified.
Government investigators crawled all over his lab, and the media pitched camp outside Bedsons house.
Professor Henry Bedson
As the days went on Parkers condition deteriorated.
The workers escaped infection because they were up-to-date on vaccination which must be renewed every three to five years.
Parker had her last shot twelve years ago.
The bifurcated needle used to deliver the smallpox vaccine had two prongs.
The needle was then punctured into a persons arm multiple times.
The bifurcated needle aided the administration of more than 200 million smallpox vaccinations a year.
In 1980, two years after Parker’s death, smallpox was officially declared to have been eradicated.
Only two remained openone in Atlanta, the US, and another one in Koltsovo, Russia.
