Conversation so far:
when did smallpox transfer from cattle to humans
where did smallpox originate
The origin of smallpox is unknown. Smallpox is thought to date back to the Egyptian Empire around the 3rd century BCE.
what is the earliest record of smallpox
The earliest evidence of smallpox skin lesions has been found on the faces of mummies from the eighteenth and twentieth Egyptian dynasties.
when was a cure made for smallpox
Smallpox vaccine, the first successful vaccine to be developed, was introduced by Edward Jenner in 1796.

Question: what causes the illness
Self-contained rewrite: what causes smallpox