On May 25th, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)
announced that
rinderpest, a deadly virus plaguing cattle and several wild species of animals, has been entirely eradicated around the world. The only other virus successfully eradicated worldwide is small pox, which was fully eradicated by 1980. Although never a problem in the Americas, rinderpest has been a cause of famines in Europe and Asia since before Roman times. This achievement probably won't get much attention in the media, but in an age when the world's population is growing rapidly, it is good news for poorer folks around the globe.
