PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Christopher JM Whitty
TI  - Milroy Lecture: eradication of disease: hype, hope and reality
AID  - 10.7861/clinmedicine.14-4-419
DP  - 2014 Aug 01
TA  - Clinical Medicine
PG  - 419--421
VI  - 14
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/14/4/419.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/14/4/419.full
SO  - Clin Med2014 Aug 01; 14
AB  - The possibility for one generation to eradicate a disease is very motivating. It is also very difficult. The many failed eradication attempts outnumber the one current success (smallpox), although two eradication campaigns for polio and Guinea worm are tantalisingly close to their goals. The early stages of a well-planned eradication campaign generally go well; it is the last stage where technical, biological, social and political problems occur. This paper considers the opportunities and pitfalls in planning for eradication of a disease.