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Radio WM,23 Oct 2025,16 mins

The Last Victim Of Smallpox

Hidden Birmingham

Available for over a year

Did you know the last ever person to die from the deadly disease Smallpox was here in the West Midlands? Her name was Janet Parker. She worked at the University of Birmingham and was treated at the former Catherine-De-Barnes Isolation Hospital in Solihull. She died in September 1978 – at a time when the World Health Organisation believed Smallpox had been eradicated. So there remains a mystery as to how Janet caught the disease… Producer/Presenter: Russell Truran Image: Getty

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