Smallpox, that potential killer of millions, has been in use since the mid-eighteenth century as a weapon of war when the British distributed smallpox infected blankets to Native Americans who were allies of the French during the period known as the French and Indian Wars. This was almost 50 years before Dr. Edward Jenner discovered that exposure to another illness, cowpox, gave an individual an immunity to the more serious disease, smallpox. It is reported in the history books that as a result of the British actions, over 50% of the tribal populations which received the blankets died as a result of this bioterrorism-like weapon. The book, Pox Americana takes the use of smallpox even further by providing an in depth study of the use of smallpox as a weapon during the American Revolution.
During the 1970's the Soviet Union maintained a large supply of weapons grade smallpox as a possible weapon of the Cold War. According to reports, the Soviet military adapted smallpox as a strategic weapon, essentially introducing it into the warheads of missiles, bombs and artillery shells. As far as is known, it never was actually used in a wartime situation. It was also considered for use by the Japanese during World War II, but again, evidence indicates that there never was actually put into use by them. It seems that the potential of an epidemic that could actually spread to the originating country outweighed the military advantage gained by using the organism. Statistics show that on the average, approximately 30% of an unvaccinated population would die should an epidemic break out at this time.
It hasn't just been other countries or terrorists that used smallpox as a weapon of war, at least if the opinions of some scholars are to be taken seriously. According to some, smallpox was used as a weapon by the United States during the Civil War, although the evidence is sketchy and unconfirmed by most authorities.
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