circa 1900: Dead oxen, some partly buried, thought to have died from rinderpest (Reinhold Thiele/Thiele/Getty Images)(ROME) -- The United Nations announced Tuesday the disease rinderpest has disappeaed, marking the second time in history a disease has been wiped off the face of the earth.



The other disease to achieve such a status was smallpox.



Rinderpest, an animal disease, infects clovenhoofed beasts such as cattle, pigs, and deer. The most virulent strains are said to have killed 95 percent of the infected herd.



At the announcement Tuesday, officials from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization said the eradication of the virus was significant for both animals and humans.



Credit has been given to numerous veterinarians who located and vaccinated herds with the rinderpest vaccine which was invented by Dr. Walter Plowright.



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