Virus-borne pathogens, like your smallpox example, were eradicated with population-wide vaccinations that halted transmission. Once the 'herd' became immune, the virus was prevented from being passed around.
If I may quote the WHO:
Likewise with Polio. People say it's been "cured", but...Originally Posted by WHO
I'm gonna bet that C-bug is gonna be pretty much the same. Infected folks will have to run the course of the disease once they have it. Uninfected folks will be inoculated against it.Originally Posted by WHO
Gonna be interesting how the world handles anti-vac people when an effective vaccine against the C-bug is developed and distributed.