Donald Henderson

Donald Ainslie Henderson (September 7, 1928 – August 19, 2016) was an American medical doctor, educator, and epidemiologist who directed a 10-year international effort (1967–1977) that eradicated smallpox throughout the world and launched international childhood vaccination programs.[1] From 1977 to 1990, he was Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.[2] Later, he played a leading role in instigating national programs for public health preparedness and response following biological attacks and national disasters.[3] At the time of his death, he was Professor and Dean Emeritus of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh, as well as Distinguished Scholar at the UPMC Center for Health Security.[4][5][6]

Donald Henderson
Henderson with his Presidential Medal of Freedom in July 2002
Born
Donald Ainslie Henderson

(1928-09-07)September 7, 1928
Lakewood, Ohio
DiedAugust 19, 2016(2016-08-19) (aged 87)
Baltimore, Maryland
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Rochester
Known forEradicating smallpox
AwardsErnst Jung Prize (1976)
Public Welfare Medal (1978)
National Medal of Science (1986)
Japan Prize (1988)
Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal (1994)
Calderone Prize (1999)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2002)
Scientific career
FieldsEpidemiology
InstitutionsWorld Health Organization
Johns Hopkins University
University of Pittsburgh
UPMC Center for Health Security

Early life and education

Henderson was born in Lakewood, Ohio on September 7, 1928, of Scots-Canadian immigrant parents.[7] His father, David Henderson, was an engineer; his mother, Eleanor McMillan, was a nurse. His interest in medicine was inspired by a Canadian uncle, William McMillan, who was a general practitioner and senior member of the Canadian House of Commons.[8]

Henderson (first man on left) as part of the CDC's smallpox eradication team in 1966.

Henderson graduated from Oberlin College in 1950 and received his MD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in 1954. He was a resident physician in medicine at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, New York, and, later, a Public Health Service Officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the Communicable Disease Center (now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—CDC). He earned an MPH degree in 1960 from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health (now the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health).[8]

Research and career

Eradication of smallpox

Henderson served as Chief of the CDC virus disease surveillance programs from 1960 to 1965, working closely with epidemiologist Alexander Langmuir. During this period, he and his unit developed a proposal for a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) program to eliminate smallpox and control measles during a 5-year period in 18 contiguous countries in western and central Africa.[9] This project was funded by USAID, with field operations beginning in 1967.[8]

The USAID initiative provided an important impetus to a World Health Organization (WHO) program to eradicate smallpox throughout the world within a 10-year period. In 1966, Henderson moved to Geneva to become director of the campaign. At that time, smallpox was occurring widely throughout Brazil and in 30 countries in Africa and South Asia. More than 10 million cases and 2 million deaths were occurring annually. Vaccination brought some control, but the key strategy was "surveillance-containment". This technique entailed rapid reporting of cases from all health units and prompt vaccination of household members and close contacts of confirmed cases. WHO staff and advisors from some 73 countries worked closely with national staff. The last case occurred in Somalia on October 26, 1977, only 10 years after the program began.[8] Three years later, the World Health Assembly recommended that smallpox vaccination could cease. Smallpox is the first human disease ever to be eradicated.[10] This success gave impetus to WHO's global Expanded Program on Immunization, which targeted other vaccine-preventable diseases, including poliomyelitis, measles, tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough.[11] Now targeted for eradication are poliomyelitis and Guinea Worm disease; after 25 years, this objective is close to being achieved.[6][12]

Later work

From 1977 through August 1990, Henderson was Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. After being awarded the 1986 National Medal of Science by Ronald Reagan for his work leading the World Health Organisation (WHO) smallpox eradication campaign, Henderson launched a public struggle to reverse the Reagan administration’s decision to default on WHO payments.[13] In 1991, he was appointed associate director for life sciences, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President (1991–93) and, later, deputy assistant secretary and senior science advisor in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).[8] In 1998, he became the founding director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies, now the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.[4]

Following the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson asked Henderson to assume responsibility for the Office of Public Health Preparedness (later the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response).[14][15][16] For this purpose, $3 billion was appropriated by Congress.[8]

At the time of his death, he served as the Editor Emeritus of the academic journal Health Security (formerly Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science).[17]

Honors and awards
  • 1975 – George McDonald Medal, London School of Tropical Medicine[18]
  • 1978 – Public Welfare Medal, National Academy of Sciences[19]
  • 1985 – Albert Schweitzer International Prize for Medicine[20]
  • 1986 – National Medal of Science in Biology[21]
  • 1988 – The Japan Prize, shared with Drs. Isao Arita and Frank Fenner[22]
  • 1990 – Health for All Medal, World Health Organization
  • 1994 – Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal, Sabin Foundation[23]
  • 1995 – John Stearns Medal, New York Academy of Medicine[24]
  • 1996 – Edward Jenner Medal, Royal Society of Medicine[25]
  • 2001 – Clan Henderson Society, Chiefs Order[26]
  • 2002 – Presidential Medal of Freedom[27][28]
  • 2013 – Order of Brilliant Star, with Grand Cordon, Republic of China[29][30]
  • 2014 – Prince Mahidol Award, Thailand[31][32]
  • 2015 – Charles Merieux Award, National Foundation for Infectious Diseases[33]

Seventeen universities conferred honorary degrees on Henderson.[34]

Selected publications
  • Fenner F, Henderson DA, Arita I, Jezek Z, Ladnyi. (1988) Smallpox and Its Eradication (ISBN 92-41-56110-6), Geneva, World Health Organization. The definitive archival history of smallpox.
  • Henderson DA. (2009) Smallpox, the Death of a Disease (ISBN 978-1591027225) New York: Prometheus Books
  • Henderson DA (1993) Surveillance systems and intergovernmental cooperation. In: Morse SS, ed. Emerging Viruses. New York: Oxford University Press: 283–289.
  • Henderson DA, Borio LL (2005) Bioterrorism: an overview. In Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases (Eds. Mandell MD, Bennett JE, Dolin R) Phil, Churchill Livingstone, 3591–3601.
  • Henderson DA (2010) The global eradication of smallpox: Historical Perspective and Future Prospects in The Global Eradication of Smallpox (Ed: Bhattacharya S, Messenger S) Orient Black Swan, London. 7–35
  • Henderson DA, Shelokov A (1959). "Medical progress: Epidemic neuromyasthenia—clinical syndrome". N Engl J Med. 260 (15): 757–764, 814–818. doi:10.1056/NEJM195904092601506. PMID 13644582.
  • Langmuir AD, Henderson DA, Serfling RE (1964). "The epidemiological basis for the control of influenza". Am J Public Health. 54 (4): 563–571. doi:10.2105/ajph.54.4.563. PMC 1254817. PMID 14136320.
  • Neff JM, Lane JM, Pert JH, Moore R, Millar JD, Henderson DA (1967). "Complications of smallpox vaccination: I. National survey in the United States, 1963". N Engl J Med. 276 (3): 125–132. doi:10.1056/nejm196701192760301. PMID 4381041.
  • Henderson DA. (1967) Smallpox eradication and measles-control programs in West and Central Africa: Theoretical and practical approaches and problems. Industry and Trop Health VI, 112–120, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston.
  • Henderson DA (1972). "Epidemiology in the global eradication of smallpox". Int J Epidemiol. 1 (1): 25–30. doi:10.1093/ije/1.1.25. PMID 4669176.
  • Henderson DA (1975). "Smallpox eradication—the final battle (Jenner Lecture)". J Clin Pathol. 28 (11): 843–849. doi:10.1136/jcp.28.11.843. PMC 475879. PMID 802231.
  • Henderson DA (1976). "The eradication of smallpox". Scientific American. 235 (4): 25–33. Bibcode:1976SciAm.235d..25H. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1076-25. PMID 788150.
  • Henderson DA (1998). "The challenge of eradication: lessons from past eradication campaigns (The Pittsfield Lecture)". Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2: 54–58.
  • Henderson, DA (1998), "The siren song of eradication", J Royal College of Physicians, 32 (6): 580–84, PMID 9881317.
  • Henderson, DA (1999). "The looming threat of bioterrorism". Science. 283 (5406): 1279–82. Bibcode:1999Sci...283.1279.. doi:10.1126/science.283.5406.1279. PMID 10037590.
  • Henderson, DA; Inglesby, TV; Barlett, JG; et al. (1999). "Smallpox as a biological weapon: medical and public health management". JAMA. 281 (22): 2127–37. doi:10.1001/jama.281.22.2127. PMID 10367824.
  • O'Toole, T; Henderson, DA (2001). "A clearly present danger: confronting the threat of bioterrorism". Harvard International Forum. 23: 49–53.

Personal life

Henderson married Nana Irene Bragg in 1951.[7][20] The couple had a daughter and two sons.[20][34] He died at Gilchrist Hospice, Towson, Maryland, at the age of 87, after fracturing his hip.[7][34][35]

References
  1. Sinha, Paul (15 June 2017). Episode 1. Paul Sinha's History Revision (Radio Broadcast). BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  2. Deans of the Bloomberg School. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. http://www.jhsph.edu/about/history/deans-of-the-school/. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  3. D. A. Henderson to Direct New Office of Public Health Preparedness CIDRAP News. November 6, 2001. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  4. Our Staff: D. A. Henderson, MD, MPH. UPMC Center for Health Security. 2015. http://www.upmchealthsecurity.org/our-staff/profiles/henderson/index.html. Retrieved September 16, 2015, 2015.
  5. Donald Henderson – Faculty Directory | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-14. Retrieved 2015-10-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link). Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  6. Breman, Joel (2016). "Donald Ainslie Henderson (1928–2016) Epidemiologist who led the effort to eradicate smallpox". Nature. 538 (7623): 42. doi:10.1038/538042a. PMID 27708300.
  7. Williams, John. "D.A. Henderson, the former dean of Bloomberg School of Public Health credited with eradicating smallpox, dies". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  8. Henderson, D.A. Smallpox: The Death of a Disease. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2009. p. 21.
  9. Henderson, D; Klepac, P (2013). "Lessons from the Eradication of Smallpox: An Interview with D. A. Henderson". Philos Trans R Soc B. 368 (1623): 20130113. doi:10.1098/rstb.2013.0113. PMC 3720050. PMID 23798700.
  10. Health Topics: Smallpox. World Health Organization. 2015. http://www.who.int/topics/smallpox/en/. Retrieved September 16, 2015
  11. Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals: National Programmes and Systems. World Health Organization. 2015. http://www.who.int/immunization/programmes_systems/en/. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  12. Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals: The Expanded Programme on Immunization. World Health Organization. 2015. http://www.who.int/immunization/programmes_systems/supply_chain/benefits_of_immunization/en/. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  13. The Other Time a U.S. President Withheld WHO Funds. JHSPH. April 21, 2020. https://www.jhsph.edu/covid-19/articles/the-other-time-a-us-president-withhel-who-funds.html. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  14. D. A. Henderson to Direct New Office of Public Health Preparedness. CIDRAP News. November 6, 2001. http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2001/11/d-henderson-direct-new-office-public-health-preparedness. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  15. HHS Historical Highlights. US Department of Health and Human Services. 2014. https://www.hhs.gov/about/historical-highlights/index.html. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  16. Statement of Tommy G. Thompson: Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services. US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. Washington, DC: Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Department of Health and Human Services; 2015. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2017-09-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link). Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  17. Health Security: Editorial Board, Mary Ann Liebert Inc., retrieved 22 August 2016
  18. Previous Medal Winners. Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. http://rstmh.org/awards/previous-medal-winners. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  19. Public Welfare Medal. National Academy of Sciences. 2015. http://www.nasonline.org/programs/awards/public-welfare-medal.html. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  20. "Donald Henderson, epidemiologist who helped to eradicate smallpox – obituary", The Telegraph, 21 August 2016, retrieved 22 August 2016
  21. The President's National Medal of Science: Recipient Details – Donald A. Henderson. National Science Foundation. https://www.nsf.gov/od/nms/recip_details.jsp?recip_id=165. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  22. Laureates of the Japan Prize: The 1988 (4th) Japan Prize. The Japan Prize Foundation. http://www.japanprize.jp/en/prize_past_1988_prize02.html. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  23. The Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal Award. Sabin Vaccine Institute. 2014. http://www.sabin.org/sabin-gold-medal-award. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  24. Anniversary Discourse & Awards. The New York Academy of Medicine. http://www.nyam.org/fellows-members/awards.html#stearns Archived 2011-02-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  25. Stanwell-Smith R (1996). "Immunization: Celebrating the Past and Injecting the Future". J R Soc Med. 89 (9): 509–513. doi:10.1177/014107689608900909. PMC 1295915. PMID 8949520.
  26. The Chiefs Order. Clan Henderson Society. 2013. http://www.clanhendersonsociety.org/the-chiefs-order/ Archived 2016-10-09 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  27. President Bush Announced the Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. White House Office of the Press Secretary. June 21, 2002. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020620-16.html. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  28. Bush Honors 12 with Presidential Medal of Freedom. The New York Times. July 9, 2002. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/09/politics/09CND-MEDA.html. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  29. President Ma Bestows Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Professor Donald A. Henderson of University of Pittsburgh. Office of the President, Republic of China (Taiwan). July 4, 2013. http://english.president.gov.tw/Default.aspx?tabid=491&itemid=30401&rmid=2355. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  30. Republic of China (Taiwan) Honors D. A. Henderson. UPMC Center for Health Security. July 8, 2013. http://www.upmchealthsecurity.org/about-the-center/pressroom/press_releases/2013-07-08_Henderson_Award.html. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  31. Biography of Laureate. Prince Mahidol Award Foundation. http://www.princemahidolaward.org/laureate-bio.en.php?type=ind&id=2014-11-06%2015:26:17 Archived 2017-01-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  32. The Announcement for the Prince Mahidol Award 2014. Prince Mahidol Award Foundation. November 6, 2014. http://www.princemahidolaward.org/display-news.en.php?id=2014-11-06%2017:55:27 Archived 2017-01-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  33. Dr. Charles Merieux Award for Achievement in Vaccinology and Immunology. National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. http://www.nfid.org/awards/merieux. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  34. Donald Ainslee Henderson, 1928-2016, UPMC Center for Health Security, 20 August 2016, retrieved 22 August 2016
  35. Archives Reference: The Donald A. Henderson Collection in the Institute of the History of Medicine Library at Johns Hopkins spans his career in smallpox eradication, including newspaper articles, honors, biographical material, lecture notes, speeches, and correspondence as well as medals and other awards.
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