Lessons from the eradication campaigns.

Of seven global eradication programs this century, only two have relied primarily on vaccines for control measures - those against smallpox and poliomyelitis. Smallpox is history and polio could possibly achieve a similar status within the next decade. The hallmarks of these successful programs were surveillance and community outreach and involvement. However, a research agenda, so crucial to smallpox eradication, has largely been ignored or dismissed by polio program managers. This could prove to be a serious, even fatal error.