Read this excerpt from "Edward Jenner and the History of Smallpox and Vaccination.”The disease greatly affected the development of Western civilization.Which evidence from the passage best supports this claim about smallpox?

The claim is about smallpox affecting the development of Western civilization. Choice B links a large-scale epidemic to the first stages of the Roman Empire’s decline, directly connecting the disease with a major historical change. The other choices describe when or how smallpox spread, but do not show its effect on civilization as clearly.

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