Histologically, papular lesions show acanthosis, individual keratinocyte necrosis, and basal vacuolization. This is accompanied by a superficial and deep perivascular, lymphohistiocytic infiltrate in the dermis. Lesions in the vesicular stage demonstrate spongiosis with reticular and ballooning degeneration. Multinucleated epithelial giant cells may be seen. Pustular lesions are characterized by epidermal necrosis with numerous eosinophils and neutrophils, many displaying karyorrhexis. Necrosis may extend through full-thickness epidermis with sharp lateral demarcation from adjacent intact epidermis. The associated perivascular infiltrate includes eosinophils and neutrophils in addition to lymphocytes and histiocytes. Petechial lesions demonstrate …show more content…
Data from the African outbreaks suggest that prior smallpox vaccination confers 85% protection from monkey pox; infection may be milder even several years after vaccination, and the incidence of complications may be reduced (Jezek and Fenner , 1988). As human monkeypox is a rare disease, with a vanishing incidence, no benefit would be derived from vaccination with vaccinia. Furthermore, smallpox vaccination cannot be undertaken in populations with high prevalence of HIV infection because of the risk of serious complications. Antiviral chemotherapeutic treatment is not a viable option in those remote places where the disease is likely to appear. The treatment would have to be administered in the very early stages of the disease and it is unlikely that the treatment could be made available in time. In addition, the treatment is not devoid of side effects. 8. Prevention and
In defense of inoculation as a feasible course of action, the argument that stands out above the rest, in my opinion, is that there were instances where this treatment was employed in parts of Asia and Africa, and the results were favorable. Admittedly, there were some individuals, when exposed to the smallpox contagion, who did not survive, it is hard to say if it was due to being introduced to a weakened strain of smallpox, or other outside causes. Nonetheless, one cannot argue with the success rate those in other lands experienced when using inoculation against
For approximately three-thousand years, smallpox has ravaged and plagued the four corners of the globe. In fact, in the 17 th and 18 th centuries, it was claimed to be the most infectious disease in the West, with an astounding 90% mortality rate in America. It wasn't until 1796, with English surgeon Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccination, that the world saw relief from this devastating virus. However, even with this inoculation in use, the world continued to witness death from both the virus and the vaccine. In the year 1966, it was estimated that 10-15 million infected citizens world wide had passed away from smallpox that year alone ( “History” 12). As a result of these devastating numbers, in the following year, 1967, the World Health
An article first published in Outbreak News Today and later on ProMed-Mail, reports that there may be an outbreak of Monkeypox occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There have been at least 20 suspected cases with 18 of those being hospitalized. The patients have the symptoms of Monkeypox but laboratory tests from the National Institute of Biomedical Research have yet to confirm this, according to Dr. Jean Pierre Inonga the Chief Health Officer
This is now a preventable vaccine and there has not been a national outbreak since 1949. The last naturally occurring smallpox infection was 1977 in
Research is underway to find an effective anti-viral medication but those who are ill with smallpox need to be in a hospital setting under intensive care. While many of the population can get smallpox vaccine, there are some who are allergic to the vaccine or its components. “… pregnant women; women who are breastfeeding; people who have, or have had, skin conditions (especially eczema and atopic dermatitis); and people with weakened immune systems, such as those who have received a transplant, are HIV positive, are receiving treatment for cancer, or are taking medications (like steroids) to suppress the immune system,” (CDC, 2016, para 14). Despite these advances in medical technology, we argue that there needs to be more done. “While certain aspects of the original research goals using live virus have been met, other key items, like the wider approval of accurate diagnostics that can distinguish smallpox from other orthopoxvirus diseases or the full licensure of new antiviral drugs and vaccines that are effective against variola virus, have not yet been completed,” (Damon, 2014, para 7). Treatments such as cidofovir and brincidofovir (CMX001) and tecovirimat (ST-246) have worked for many as a clinical drug, there are some long term side effects that follow.
Smallpox is a viral disease that causes pus-filled boils on the dermis. It looks similar to chickenpox, but has certain characteristic differences. Unlike chickenpox, smallpox is lethal in 30% of the cases and leaves the victim with disfiguring scars and/or blindness. Smallpox has now been eradicated through aggressive vaccination. The last case was reported in Somalia in the late 1970’s. After 2 years of worldwide surveillance, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the disease had been eradicated.
The history of smallpox goes back for thousands of years. It is thought to have appeared as much as 10,000 years ago and since then, it has claimed the lives of millions of people, many of whom have been famous figures in history. After a vaccine was discovered in 1796, countries throughout the world began the fight to eradicate the disease. This fight was won in 1980 as a result of the international effort headed by the World Health Organization. Today, smallpox is no longer a threat in nature but the virus is still stored in labs, from which a biological weapon could be made.
In 2003, an outbreak of monkeypox in the United States proved the smallpox vaccination provided 85% protection against monkeypox.3 However, in Central Africa in the 1990s showed 6 of 29 cases of monkeypox were from people who were vaccinated in childhood, showing the childhood vaccine did not give complete protection against monkeypox.3 The military
Immunization, as of today, is widely different from the methods of immunization used hundreds of years ago. Buddhist monks swallowed snake venom to receive immunity to snake bites, and variolation, the act of spreading cowpox infected skin on non-infected skin to gain immunity to smallpox, was exercised in China during the 1600s. In 1796, after injecting a 13-year-old-boy with vaccinia virus(cowpox) and validated immunity to cowpox, Edward Jenner is acknowledged as the founder of vaccinology. The first smallpox vaccine was produced in the year of 1798. Over the course of the 1700s and the 1800s, smallpox was eradicated due to the efficient application worldwide, which led to the vaccine being eradicated in 1979 (Immunization Advisory Centre).
Smallpox is a transmittable disease, and a deadly one that has affected humans for thousands of years, also known as Variola. It was developed worldwide in 1980. Currently there are no treatments or cure are available for smallpox, although the vaccination’s side effects is too risky for the people who are at low risk to the deadly virus. The symptoms of smallpox will appear around twelve to fourteen days after the person received the disease. A person who has been incubated will stay there from seven to seventeen days. They will look and feel healthy and cannot spread the disease to others. During the incubation period the signs and symptoms include, fever, headache, severe fatigue, vomiting, and discomfort. After a couples days a red,
Smallpox is caused by a virus called “Variola Major” and “Variola Minor” which causes the skin to rash up all over the body. It is very infections and can often cause death. Smallpox can be contracted by human contacted. Small pox was first discovered 3000 years in Egypt and/or India. The first documented death was the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses V”. Many people were infected by this, which ended up destroying world emperors. Which caused cities to fall. There was and is no cure available for Smallpox but vaccinations can be used to significantly reduce the infection from occurring. The disease Is the worst disease in history because in the 20th century it Is approximated that over 300 million people died because of it. The disease is known to
The large, double-stranded DNA genome of the Variola virus, which uses its genome to distract the host’s innate immune responses, was greatly observed by Edward Jenner to create a vaccine against smallpox using the cowpox virus. This form of immunization was shared by Jenner to many others in the hopes of ending the deadly virus. Then, Henderson worked with three advantages which lead to smallpox eradication. First, a low-cost, heat-stable vaccine and a bifurcated needle to go with it. Second, a disease that is easily diagnosed due to its’ signature rash. Lastly, the fact that there are no other reservoirs for the virus other than humans and that there are no asymptomatic carriers. This allowed for the implementation of the surveillance-containment
Since its discovery most cases have occurred in western and central Africa, although in 2003 a few cases occurred in the U.S. Midwest after infected animals were imported from Africa. There is no treatment for monkeypox, which is fatal in as many as 10 percent of cases. Because the viruses that cause small and monkeypox are closely related (both belong to the Orthopoxvirus genus),
PPE is characterized by multiple sharply demarcated urticarial papules that are either skin-colored or erythematous. The lesions are symmetrically distributed and more commonly seen on the extremities, but are also found on the trunk, face, or be generalized with sparing of mucous membranes, palms and soles, and digital web spaces. Studies have shown that 95% of lesions are located on the extremities, arms and legs, most frequently on the extensor surfaces and dorsum of the hands. PPE has a chronic course that waxes and wanes, and the lesions change appearance over time, with new lesions appearing daily. As the pruritus beings with lesion appearance, scratching leads to excoriations, secondary infections, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, eventually leading to scarring and prurigo-like nodules. The lesions of PPE are predominantly papular, but there have been variants reported that display pustular lesions with acneform appearance.
Smallpox is an illness caused by the variola virus. It has been around for thousands of years, however according to MayoClinic, “Naturally occurring small pox was eradicated worldwide by 1980 the result of an unprecedented global immunization campaign”. Symptoms of this disease include fever, headache, severe fatigue, vomiting and a few days’ later red spots begin to appear on the face. The most common strain of smallpox variola major, has an overall death rate of 30% while the least common variola minor, with less than a 1% death rate (CDC, 2007). Currently this disease has been eradicated however there are concerns that it can be used as a weapon against the country. There is no cure at the moment for smallpox however there are vaccines that prevent the disease (MayoClinic, 2014).