The Debate.

In May 2011, The WHO (2013) held a meeting to discuss whether the destruction of the last known samples of the smallpox virus should take place or whether the stocks should be preserved. This caused a huge worldwide debate, with many countries believing the stocks should be kept for defence reasons in the unfortunate event of another worldwide outbreak. Other couneries believe preserving the samples would cause detrimental effects socially, economically and politically.

References

1. WHO (2013) Smallpox. Geneva: WHO. [Online]. Available from:

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/smallpox/en/ [04/04/13].