TABLE 4.

Characteristics of past and present eradication candidates^a

Characteristic	Presence of characteristic for diseaseb:
	Malaria	Small- pox	Polio	Dracun- culiasis
Agent
No animal reservoir	+	+	+	+
No mobile vector	−	+	+	+
Host
Limited carrier state	−	+	+	+
Easy diagnosis	−	+	−	+
Distribution
Limited area of endemicity	+	+	−	++
Seasonal transmission	+	+	+/−	+
Threat to Western countries and visitors	+	+	+	−
Intervention
Existence of effective drugs	+	−	−	−
Cheapness and completeness of prevention	−	+	+	+
No behavioral change     needed for prevention	−	+	+	−

^aAdapted from reference 79 with permission of the publisher.

^b++, highly present and favorable for eradication; +, present;+/−, somewhat present; −, absent.