Fenner, Frank John (1914-2010), an Australian scientist, is known for important research on viruses that cause pox diseases in people and other animals. Such diseases cause a rash of pustules (small fluid-filled bumps) on the skin. Historically, such pustules were called pox.
Fenner was born on Dec. 21, 1914, in Ballarat, Victoria. He studied at the University of Adelaide, receiving bachelor’s degrees in medicine and surgery in 1938 and a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1942. In 1949, he was appointed professor of microbiology at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra.
At ANU, Fenner began studying the myxoma virus, which occurs naturally in rabbits in South America. The virus causes a disease called myxomatosis . The virus was introduced into Australia to help control the population of European rabbits . The rabbits were reproducing wildly, and their huge populations were destroying farmland in Australia. The policy was initially successful, and millions of rabbits were killed. However, the rabbits eventually developed natural resistance to the disease.
In 1977, Fenner was selected to lead the Global Commission for Certification of Smallpox Eradication for the World Health Organization (WHO) . The commission was the culmination of an international effort to eliminate the smallpox virus, which caused one of the most feared diseases in human history. In 1980, WHO formally announced that the smallpox virus had been eliminated worldwide. Fenner retired from ANU in 1979. But he continued to conduct research there for many years. He died on Nov. 20, 2010.
