US: William Foege, the doctor who eradicated smallpox, has died

Milan, 25 January (LaPresse) – William Foege, the doctor who developed the vaccination strategy that helped eradicate smallpox in the 1970s, one of the greatest triumphs in global public health, has died at the age of 89. Foege died at his home in Atlanta, according to The New York Times. Dr Mark Rosenberg, a friend and colleague of Foege, explained that the cause of death was heart failure. In 2012, Barack Obama awarded Foege the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest national honour awarded to civilians in the United States.