Cases of smallpox have been identified in the study of Egyptian mummies dating as early as 1350 BCE.
Notes on verification
Corroborated by peer-reviewed literature and WHO historical documentation citing Ruffer (1921), confirming that skin lesions resembling smallpox were identified on mummies of this era. However, the diagnosis relies on visual/histological resemblance rather than molecular confirmation, and modern genomic studies (Duggan et al. 2016; Newfield & Duggan 2022) cast doubt on whether these represent true smallpox given the disease's suspected younger molecular age. The claim as stated is accurate to the historical record but glosses over significant contested nuance.
Sources
- History of smallpox vaccination (who.int)
- https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/microbiolspec.poh-0004-2014 (journals.asm.org)
- https://biotech.law.lsu.edu/blaw/bt/smallpox/who/red-book/9241561106_chp5.pdf (biotech.law.lsu.edu)
- https://smallpoxbook.com/chapter-5-the-history-of-smallpox-and-its-spread-around-the-world/ (smallpoxbook.com)
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S120197122032470X (sciencedirect.com)
- https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/B15B505D959E90824B6B9DCFAB1FA124/S1047759422000290a.pdf/smallpoxs_antiquity_in_doubt.pdf (cambridge.org)