1971 Aral smallpox incident

The Aral smallpox incident was a 30 July 1971 outbreak of the viral disease which occurred as a result of a field test at a Soviet biological weapons (BW) facility on an island in the Aral Sea. The incident sickened ten people, of whom three died, and came to widespread public notice only in 2002.[1]

  1. ^ Broad, W.J. and Miller J. (2002), "Traces of Terror: The Bioterror Threat; Report Provides New Details of Soviet Smallpox Accident", The New York Times; 15 June issue.