Smallpox: A Contagious Disease

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What is Smallpox? The Illinois Department of Public Health defines smallpox as a serious, contagious and sometimes deadly disease caused by the Orthopox virus. “Smallpox gets its name from the pus-filled blisters (or pocks) that form during the illness. Although the names may sound alike, smallpox is not related to chickenpox. Chickenpox is a milder disease caused by a different virus” (Dowshen, 2013). The World Health Organization asserts that Smallpox was one of the world's most devastating diseases known to humanity. They also inform us that the last known natural case of Smallpox was in Somalia 1977. It was declared eradicated in 1980 following a global immunization campaign led by the World Health Organization. This research paper will …show more content…
The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) claims that people who have smallpox become contagious when their temperature goes above 101°F (38.3°C), but are the most contagious with the onset of rash. The infected remain contagious until all their scabs fall off. Moreover, a person with the smallpox disease is only contagious through the spread of fluids from the rashes or pustules. “Pustules are small circumscribed elevations of the skin containing pus and having an inflamed base” (IAFF, 2003). Although direct contact with the skin of the infected person transmits the disease, the source of the disease originates from the inside of the mouth. Thus, when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathes, or speaks, the saliva which comes out is highly …show more content…
Due to the spread of the different types of people, the different types of bacteria get dispersed into the air, it forms, and it reproduces; making diseases such as Smallpox come to life. The National Geographic claims that Smallpox is thought to have originated in India or Egypt at least 3,000 years ago. The National Geographic also claims that the earliest evidence for the disease comes from the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses V, who died in 1157 B.C. His mummified remains revealed the telltale pockmarks on his skin that resulted from the

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