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Eradicated Diseases

Vincent Iannelli, MD

Once a vaccine-preventable disease is eradicated, the worldwide incidence of the disease is reduced to zero so that intervention, including immunizations, are no longer needed.

Eradicated Diseases

Only one vaccine-preventable disease has actually been declared eradicated in the world – smallpox in 1980.

The eradication of smallpox made headlines.

Rinderpest was also eradicated with vaccines, but unlike smallpox,  rinderpest was a disease of livestock.

The second vaccine-preventable disease to be eradicated will likely be polio.

Guinea worm disease may be eradicated first, but not with the help of vaccines.

Eliminated Diseases

Many more vaccine-preventable diseases have been eliminated, especially in developed countries.

Similar to eradication, when a disease is eliminated, the incidence of disease is reduced to zero, but only in a particular geographic area. Unlike eradication, since the disease is still around in other areas, people must continue to get vaccinated so that the disease doesn’t come back in that area.

To be more clear, when an epidemiologist says that a disease is eliminated in an area, what they are really saying is that the endemic form of the disease has been eliminated – someone has to reintroduce the disease from outside the area for outbreaks to occur. So you can still have cases and even big outbreaks, like we continue to see with measles in the United States, however, they always start with someone who initially got infected from outside the country.

In the United States, endemic yellow fever, polio, measles, rubella and respiratory diphtheria have all been eliminated. So have neonatal tetanus and congenital rubella syndrome:

Again, even though these diseases have been eliminated in the United States, that doesn’t mean that you can’t get them anymore. If you are not vaccinated or have a problem with your immune system and travel to an area of the world where these diseases are still common, you are at risk to get sick and bring that disease home with you, infecting others.

Disease Control

Unfortunately, not all diseases can be eliminated and eradicated.

This may have nothing to do with how well a vaccine works or whether or not people get their kids vaccinated though.

In some cases, an infection might not be contagious and is simply found in the environment, like Ascariasis (roundworms) or tetanus. To eradicate tetanus, we would have to get rid of the tetanus bacteria at its source – soil!

Other reasons that a disease might not be able to be easily eliminated or eradicated could include that:

Hopefully these challenges will soon be overcome for more diseases though, especially vaccine-preventable diseases like polio and measles.

Goals for Global Elimination and Eradication of Diseases

Tragically, we have a long history of not meeting our goals for disease elimination and eradication.

Still, a lot of progress has been made over the years, millions of lives have been saved, and many more deaths will be prevented if we meet our current goals to eradicate or eliminate these diseases:

Unfortunately, even as we make progress to control, eliminate, and eradicate these diseases, some are beginning to make a comeback.

And no, it is not just because of parents choosing to intentionally not vaccinate their children. In many parts of the world, in addition to the humanitarian crisis and health challenges posed by natural disasters, children are getting sick in war zones and refugee camps and simply can’t be vaccinated.

What to Know about Eradicated Diseases

Vaccines work well and have helped control, eliminate, and in the case of smallpox, eradicate diseases.

More on Eradicated Diseases

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