(Reuters) Aug. 23: Donald A. Henderson, a leader of one of mankind's greatest public health triumphs - the eradication of smallpox - died on Friday in Maryland. When India declared success, Henderson offered a once-sceptical colleague a jeep tyre to eat. "I reminded him later on of his bet and said that we had a tyre waiting and where should we send it. Amid such circumstances, the WHO was worried about signals that the Indian government would pull back on its financial and political commitment to the call for global smallpox eradication. "This would be tragic with the wealth of experienced and trained people in India and its eminent record of success in the malaria programme," Henderson wrote.

Source: The Telegraph August 23, 2016 21:44 UTC