From Richard Fernandez:
“...we have no idea what is happening in Sierra Leone or Guinea, which is one of the most corrupt countries on earth. Officials claim only about 1,000 people have died from Ebola in West Africa so far, ‘not many’ in such a vast region. But this completely underrates the real danger. The relevant population against which such casualties must be measured are the medical personnel. They are being wiped out. Africa has a very limited store of scientific, medical and technical human capital and once these irreplaceables are killed or intimidated then the man issuing the medical exit visas will be an illiterate with a rubber stamp.”
http://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2014/08/08/viral/#more-38550
The earth has been swept by devastating diseases many times. 1918 wasn't that long ago, but many people seem confident that modern medicine can deal with just about anything. It will be quite a wake-up call if we see deaths in the tens of millions -- from ebola, smallpox, or whatever.
Note that vials of smallpox were recently found in a drawer or closet at some US medical facility. Everyone had forgotten they were there. Sat unguarded for decades.
You think smallpox won't come back? I'm quite sure it will.