Last Smallpox Victim: Janet Parker

In 1978, Janet Parker, a medical photographer at the University of Birmingham Medical School, became the last known person to die from smallpox after likely contracting it through air ducts connected to a poorly maintained lab researching the virus. The exposure was due to inadequate safety protocols, sparking a national scandal and inquiry into the lab's violations. Within weeks, Parker died, her father suffered a fatal heart attack while visiting her, and the head of the lab, overwhelmed by guilt, committed suicide.

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