The End of Smallpox in Mexico: A Historical Account of How Vaccines Helped Eradicate the Disease

It is always interesting to look at historical documents to get a glimpse at the state of the world at a moment in history. Reading these documents sometimes informs us why things are the way they are today. That is the case with a report on vaccine activities in Mexico filed within a bigger report of government activities. In 1926, Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles delivered his “Presidential Report” to the Mexican Congress. In it, he detailed the achievements of his administration so far. (Elías Calles would be President until November 1928.) with point after point about the administration’s activities, the money spent on those activities, and the successes and challenges of the previous year. In the 1926 report, smallpox (”viruela” in Spanish) is mentioned four times.

Smallpox in Veracruz

The Port of Veracruz is a large port located in Mexico’s Gulf Coast and about 400 kilometers from Mexico City. It has historically been a major point of transportation in and out of the country. During the Spanish colonial era, it was a hub for transporting goods out of Mexico, importing raw materials, and people trafficked in the slave trade. After Mexico’s independence, it remained a major economic center and naval port. This also made the port a target for invasions of all sorts. In 1568, British and Spanish naval forces fought in the . In 1838, the French Navy bombarded the city during the second Battle of San Juan de Ulúa (the name of the garrison at the port). In 1847, . In 1861, the French would again attack and invade the port at the beginning of the .

It would be no different with smallpox. Before the smallpox vaccine, wave after wave of smallpox epidemics would arrive in Mexico, as it did in other countries. It would arrive with infected sailors or enslaved people, and it would spread through the local population, often with deadly consequences. with the arrival of an enslaved man at Veracruz. He arrived as an enslaved servant with the forces of Captain Pánfilo de Narváez of Spain.

Things would be different some centuries later. In 1926, President Elías Calles reported:

“Durante los meses de enero, febrero y marzo de este año, se persiguió con éxito la aparición de una epidemia de viruela en el Estado de Veracruz, habiéndose logrado vacunar, en el espacio de tiempo señalado a 77,000 personas en el puerto de Veracruz (incluyendo en esta cifra la población flotante),a 30,000 en Córdoba, a 45,000 en Orizaba y los centros obreros.”

[During the months of January, February, and March of this year, a successful investigation of an outbreak of smallpox in the State of Veracruz was carried out, successfully vaccination in the span of time mentioned of 77,000 people in the Port of Veracruz (including the floating population), 30,000 people in Córdoba, and 45,000 in Orizaba and the worker centers.]

Vaccine Distribution

President Elías Calles also mentioned the successful smallpox vaccine distribution to thousands throughout Mexico that year. The for the manufacture of antitoxins for diseases like diphtheria and tetanus, and the manufacture of smallpox vaccination. By 1926, the institute created the thousands of vaccines needed to keep smallpox at bay. And, by Presidential decree, everyone in Mexico was required to get the vaccine. But the Elías Calles Administration came to power shortly after the end of Mexico’s Revolutionary War, when . Due to the army being put to the task of responding to epidemics, . Nevertheless, President Elías Calles reported:

“El Servicio de Enfermedades Transmisibles procedió a la distribución de 2.789,196 dosis de linlinfa vacunal antivariolosa y efectuó en el Distrito 664,677 revacunaciones y 57,193 vacunaciones. La vacunación de los inmigrantes se ha llevado a cabo en puertos y fronteras, con la excepción de aquéllos que acreditaron haber sido revacunados en un plazo no mayor de cinco años. Prácticamente, la vacunación en la República quedará terminada el año entrante. El mismo Servicio persiguió las epidemias de meningitis cerebroespinal en Guerrero; de viruela en Aguascalientes y San Luis Potosí y de paludismo en Nayarit, habiendo logrado un feliz término en todas sus campañas.”

[The Communicable Disease Service distributed 2,789,196 doses of smallpox vaccine and effected 664,677 re-vaccinations (boosters) in the District, and 57,193 vaccinations. The vaccinations of the the immigrants was undertaken at the ports and borders, with the exception of those who accredited having been re-vaccinated in the last five years. Practically speaking, the vaccination of the republic will be finished next year. The Service also investigated outbreaks of cerebrospinal meningitis in Guerrero, of smallpox in Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosí and malaria in Nayarit, reaching a successful ending in all of its campaigns.]

Later in the report, he notes the decrease in smallpox cases, from 2,199 reported cases in the Federal District (Mexico City) in 1922 to only 27 in 1926.

The End of Smallpox in Mexico

By 1928, the number of smallpox cases in Mexico City fell even further, to nine (9) reported cases. . From then on, smallpox vaccination remained a top priority of the Mexican government to prevent outbreaks from imported cases. after a successful global eradication campaign.

Modern Vaccine Practices in Mexico

Mexican public health authorities are heavily centralized in Mexico. Unlike the United States and other nations, local governments do not have control over public health recommendations. Instead, they rely on the recommendations and funding from the federal government. The national public health authorities conduct annual vaccination campaigns in most of the country. But vaccination is difficult in the more rural areas of the country, or in . Nevertheless, vaccination history in Mexico dates back well over a century, and is closely tied to the history of its wealthier northern neighbor, the United States. To understand the history of vaccination in the US, particularly along the southern border and in Latin American immigrant communities, it is important to know the history of vaccines “over there.”

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