Eric Schneider @ericbschneider.com · May 13 Why the such different CFRs? In endemic settings like Sweden, smallpox was a childhood disease and adults very rarely contracted smallpox. But in Iceland, the epidemic struck a population where both adults and children were susceptible. This raised the CFR dramatically. 3/6
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Our findings suggest that smallpox’s lethality wasn’t just about the virus—it was about context. When adults and children were sick together, there was no one to fetch water, cook food or nurse the sick. High CFRs often reflect crisis conditions, not just the innate virulence of the pathogen. 4/6