Synopsis

Of all the creatures sculpted by evolution, few have inflicted suffering on humankind with such relentless efficacy as the variola virus, the agent of smallpox. The devastation it wrought was so profound and unforgiving that it spurred humanity, for the first time, to concerted global action. This marked one of our species' most significant triumphs over the primal forces of nature, a victory paradoxically enabled by… cattle.