{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T19:58:55Z","timestamp":1791316735844,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"The Royal Society","issue":"1212","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[1983,6,22]],"date-time":"1983-06-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":425088000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/royalsociety.org\/journals\/ethics-policies\/data-sharing-mining\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[1983,6,22]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Biological control is an important method of dealing with plant and insect pests. The control of rabbits by myxomatosis and the eradication of smallpox by vaccination are unusual examples of biological control, in that they involve a vertebrate and a viral pest respectively. Myxomatosis is a benign disease in Sylvilagus rabbits in South America which is transmitted mechanically by mosquitoes. In the European rabbit, Oryctolagus, which is a pest in Australia and England, the virus from Sylvilagus produces a generalized disease that is almost always lethal. Myxomatosis was deliberately introduced into Australia in 1950 and into Europe in 1952. It was at first spectacularly successful in controlling the rabbit pest, but biological adjustments occurred in the virulence of the virus and the genetic resistances of rabbits. After 30 years of interaction, natural selection has resulted in a balance at a fairly high level of viral virulence. Smallpox has been a major scourge of mankind for over 1500 years. It spread from Asia to Europe in the Middle ages and from Europe to Africa and the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries. Jenner\u2019s cowpox vaccine provided a method of control that reduced the severity of the disease during the 19th century but failed to eliminate the disease from many countries before the 1930s. Thereafter it was eradicated from Europe and North America, but remained endemic in South America, Africa and Asia. In 1967 it was still endemic in 33 countries and W. H. O. established a programme for global eradication within 10 years. The goal was achieved in 1977. Problems of the eradication programme and reasons for its success will be described.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.1983.0039","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2006,12,18]],"date-time":"2006-12-18T18:11:28Z","timestamp":1166465488000},"page":"259-285","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":119,"title":["The Florey Lecture, 1983 - Biological control, as exemplified by smallpox eradication and myxomatosis"],"prefix":"10.1098","volume":"218","author":[{"given":"Frank John","family":"Fenner","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, P. O. Box 334, Canberra City, A. C. T., Australia 2601"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"175","reference":[{"key":"p_1","unstructured":"References to myxomatosis earlier than 1965 are contained in Fenner & Ratcliffe (1965)."},{"key":"p_2","unstructured":"Unpublished material on smallpox is derived from a book in preparation for the World Health"},{"key":"p_3","unstructured":"Organization entitled Smallpox and its eradication by F. Fenner D. A. Henderson I. Arita &"},{"key":"p_4","unstructured":"I. D. Ladnyi."},{"key":"p_5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0031182000055360"},{"key":"p_6","unstructured":"Basu R. N. Jezek Z. &Ward N. A. 1979 The eradication of smallpox from India. International public health no. 2. New Delhi: World Health Organization South-East Asia Regional Office."},{"key":"p_7","unstructured":"Baxby D. 1981 Jenner's smallpox vaccine. The riddle of the origin of vaccinia virus. London: Heinemann Educational Books."},{"key":"p_8","first-page":"165","article-title":"Human monkeypox, 1970-79","volume":"58","author":"Breman J. G.","year":"1980","journal-title":"Bull. Wld Hlth Org."},{"key":"p_9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S002217240000053X"},{"key":"p_10","first-page":"381","article-title":"Laboratory investigation of two \" whitepox","volume":"60","author":"Dumbell K. R.","year":"1982","journal-title":"Bull. Wld Hlth Org."},{"key":"p_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Edmonds J. W. Nolan I. F. Shepherd R. C. H. & Goes A. 1975 Myxomatosis: the virulence of field strains of myxoma virus in a population of wild rabbits cuniculus L.)","DOI":"10.1017\/S0022172400046921"},{"key":"p_12","first-page":"175","article-title":"Evolutionary changes in myxoma viruses in Britain. An examination of 222 naturally occurring strains obtained from 80 counties during the period October-November 1962. J.Hyg","volume":"63","author":"Hyg","year":"1965","journal-title":"Camb."},{"key":"p_13","unstructured":"Fenner F. & Ratcliffe R. N. 1965 Myxomatosis. Cambridge: University Press."},{"key":"p_14","unstructured":"Hopkins D. A. 1983 Princes and peasants. Smallpox in history. Chicago University Press."},{"key":"p_15","first-page":"557","article-title":"Serologically cross-reactive polypeptides in vaccinia, cowpox and Shope fibroma viruses. J. gen","volume":"44","author":"Ikuta K.","year":"1979","journal-title":"Virol."},{"key":"p_16","first-page":"95","article-title":"Problem of persistence of facial pock marks among smallpox patients. Indian J. publ","volume":"22","author":"Jezek Z.","year":"1978","journal-title":"Hlth"},{"key":"p_17","first-page":"139","article-title":"Residual skin changes in patients who have recovered from variola minor","volume":"58","author":"Jezek Z.","year":"1980","journal-title":"Bull. Wld Hlth Org."},{"key":"p_18","first-page":"683","article-title":"Conservation and variation in Orthopoxvirus genome structure. J. gen","volume":"45","author":"Mackett M.","year":"1979","journal-title":"Virol."},{"key":"p_19","first-page":"485","article-title":"and 1959. J. Hyg","volume":"58","author":"Marshall I. D.","year":"1951","journal-title":"Camb."},{"key":"p_20","first-page":"237","article-title":"The differential transmissibility of myxoma virus strains of differing virulence by the rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale). J. Hyg","volume":"75","author":"Mead-Briggs A. R.","year":"1975","journal-title":"Camb."},{"key":"p_21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1159\/000149934"},{"key":"p_22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/294078a0"},{"issue":"50","key":"p_23","first-page":"77","article-title":"Myxomatosis: the natural evolution of the disease. In Animal disease in relation to animal conservation, Symp. zool","author":"Ross J.","year":"1982","journal-title":"Soc. Lond."},{"key":"p_24","first-page":"743","article-title":"Selection for resistance to myxomatosis in domestic rabbits ( cuniculus). J. Hyg","volume":"67","author":"Sobey W. R.","year":"1969","journal-title":"Camb."},{"key":"p_25","unstructured":"Tekeste A. Y. Hailu A. A. do Amaral C. Arbani P. R. Khodakevich L. N. & Ward N. A. 1979 Smallpox eradication in (WHO\/SE\/79.144)."},{"key":"p_26","unstructured":"Ethiopia. Geneva: World Health Organization"},{"key":"p_27","unstructured":"Waterhouse D. F. 1975 The history and future of biological control in Australia Australian Applied Entomological Research Conference Queensland Agricultural College Lawes June 1979. Canberra: C.S.I.R.O."},{"key":"p_28","unstructured":"W.H.O. 1980 The global eradication of smallpox. Final Report of the Global Commission for the Certification ofSmallpox Eradication. History ofinternationalpublic health no 4. Geneva: World Health Organization."},{"key":"p_29","first-page":"417","article-title":"Observations on a naturally occurring winter epizootic of myxomatosis at Canberra, Australia, in the presence of rabbit fleas, Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) and virulent myxoma virus. J. appl","volume":"10","author":"Williams R. T.","year":"1973","journal-title":"Ecol."},{"key":"p_30","unstructured":"Wilson F. i960 A review of the biological control of insects and weeds in Australia and Australian New Guinea. Tech. Commun. Commonw. Inst. biol. Control Ottawa no. 1."}],"container-title":["Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/royalsocietypublishing.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1098\/rspb.1983.0039","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/royalsocietypublishing.org\/rspb\/article-pdf\/218\/1212\/259\/172985\/rspb.1983.0039.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/royalsocietypublishing.org\/rspb\/article-pdf\/218\/1212\/259\/172985\/rspb.1983.0039.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,4]],"date-time":"2026-01-04T04:35:22Z","timestamp":1767501322000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/royalsocietypublishing.org\/rspb\/article\/218\/1212\/259\/33559\/The-Florey-Lecture-1983-Biological-control-as"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[1983,6,22]]},"references-count":30,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1212","published-print":{"date-parts":[[1983,6,22]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1098\/rspb.1983.0039","relation":{},"ISSN":["0080-4649","2053-9193"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0080-4649","type":"print"},{"value":"2053-9193","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[1983,6,22]]}}}