Smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by the variola virus (variola major and variola minor). Smallpox gets its name from the pus-filled blisters (or pocks) that form during the illness.
The variola virus, which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus, the family Poxviridae and subfamily chordopoxvirinae, is a double-strand DNA virus.
After the virus has developed inside the host after around a week, symptoms such as high fever, chills, headache, back and abdominal pains and vomiting occur. After a few days, these symptoms would disappear and rashes would appear, making the patient highly contagious. These rashes will develop into abcesses filled with pus, then they will form scabs.
Smallpox is transmitted through tiny drops of an infected person's saliva (spit) when the person coughs, talks, or sneezes. Smallpox usually passes from person to person during close, face-to-face contact, but can also be spread through …show more content…
Prevention is achieved through vaccination. The vaccine is made from a virus called vaccinia. a sharp, pronged piece of metal is dipped in the vaccine and then used to prick the skin of the recipient. If successful, the site of vaccination will develop small blisters that scab and heal. the site should be kept clean, dry and covered to prevent the vaccinia virus from spreading. If a patient is hospitalized, strict airborne and contact isolation procedures would be followed, By the mid-18th century smallpox was a major endemic disease everywhere in the world except in Australia and in several small islands. Toward the end of the 19th century, improved vaccines and the practice of re-vaccination led to a substantial reduction in cases in Europe and North America, but smallpox remained almost unchecked everywhere else in the world. An estimated 300 million people died from smallpox in the 20th century alone. By the end of 1975, smallpox persisted only in the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia,
The variola virus, which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus, the family Poxviridae and subfamily chordopoxvirinae, is a double-strand DNA virus.
After the virus has developed inside the host after around a week, symptoms such as high fever, chills, headache, back and abdominal pains and vomiting occur. After a few days, these symptoms would disappear and rashes would appear, making the patient highly contagious. These rashes will develop into abcesses filled with pus, then they will form scabs.
Smallpox is transmitted through tiny drops of an infected person's saliva (spit) when the person coughs, talks, or sneezes. Smallpox usually passes from person to person during close, face-to-face contact, but can also be spread through …show more content…
Prevention is achieved through vaccination. The vaccine is made from a virus called vaccinia. a sharp, pronged piece of metal is dipped in the vaccine and then used to prick the skin of the recipient. If successful, the site of vaccination will develop small blisters that scab and heal. the site should be kept clean, dry and covered to prevent the vaccinia virus from spreading. If a patient is hospitalized, strict airborne and contact isolation procedures would be followed, By the mid-18th century smallpox was a major endemic disease everywhere in the world except in Australia and in several small islands. Toward the end of the 19th century, improved vaccines and the practice of re-vaccination led to a substantial reduction in cases in Europe and North America, but smallpox remained almost unchecked everywhere else in the world. An estimated 300 million people died from smallpox in the 20th century alone. By the end of 1975, smallpox persisted only in the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia,