A Historical Investigation into Combatting Smallpox in Iran: 1948–1967 (First to Third Development Projects)

Smallpox was a dangerous disease that was considered one of the leading causes of mortality and disability in Iran up to Pahlavi II period. Therefore, combatting this disease was necessary. At the beginning of the second development plan (1955) and by founding Combatting Smallpox Service, the efforts for eradicating smallpox became more organized. This organization could overcome a lot of the different geographical and human obstacles and vaccinate a lot of the people every year. So, it could almost controlled smallpox up to the end of this period. In this paper, we investigated combatting smallpox from 1948 to 1967 and addressed its obstacles, approaches and achievements. Accordingly, we answered research questions through content analysis and deductive reasoning. The major sources used were reports released by the state, particularly the reports of Planning Organization and Ministry of Health, as well as old medical magazines.