Ali Maow Maalin (Photo: World Health Organization)
PRI's The World
Saturday, July 27, 2013
One of the battlefronts in the ongoing fight to
eradicate polio around the globe is Somalia. One man who was closely
associated with that battle died unexpectedly this week. Ali Maow Maalin
passed away on Monday in Somalia after a sudden illness.
But his passing is also a milestone in the history of another viral
disease: smallpox. Ali Maow Maalin was the last person in the world to
be infected with naturally occurring smallpox before the disease was
eradicated. He contracted the virus in 1977, when he was working as a
hospital cook.
Following his recovery, Maalin became a dedicated advocate for polio
eradication in Somalia, and he used his own experience with smallpox to
illustrate the importance of vaccination.
Anchor Carol Hills speaks with Jason Weisfeld, who led the World
Health Organization team that conducted the surveillance and containment
in 1977 which confirmed Ali to be the last case of endemic smallpox in
the world.