Research Paper On Small Pox

Smallpox is an extremely deadly disease which, in one point in time, was the most feared disease on the planet. In the book Pox Americana, Elizabeth A. Fenn writes about the encounter with the deadly disease in the 1770's to the 1780's. Her book was first published in 2001 in New York City, where she originally wrote it. Her book contains just under 400 words that explain the disease, some of the first encounters with it, who and where it affected people, and how they got the epidemic under control. Pox Americana is a very informative book that teaches the reader various things.

Smallpox is a disease caused by a poxvirus that is caught from person to person that causes high fever, and rash, that can kill about 1/3 of those who caught the disease. Smallpox (also called variola) is the only disease that has been fully cured. Smallpox is also almost one of the most scary deaths ever. Not one documented naturally occurring case of this very infectious, deadly disease hasn't occurred since 1977. (An unvaccinated hospital cook in Somalia was the last person to naturally contract smallpox.) The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared smallpox eradicated in

I looked at everything I could access related to smallpox. The writings included many references to

What is smallpox? The internet has defined it as an “acute contagious immune disease, with fever and pustules (small bumps on the skin filled with pus) that will usually will leave scars.” Smallpox originated in India and Egypt over 3,000 years ago. After that it slowly started to progress to other areas across the world. It then started to show itself in places like Africa, Europe and then after a few years later, finally made it’s way into the Americas during the 1500’s.

Smallpox is a virus that was first founded in ancient times. The virus?s proper name is Variola rex, and it has various different forms as well as various symptoms. Among these forms are typical smallpox, hemorrhagic smallpox, and malignant smallpox, all of which usually always cause death in their victims. Some of the typical symptoms of smallpox include red vesicles and pustules all over, bleeding from all orifices of the body, swelling in the face, throat, and eyes, difficulty eating and swallowing, delirium, malaise, deterioration of the bone marrow, lymph nodes and mucus membranes of the body, and a multitude of other secondary symptoms. Smallpox is typically diagnosed by ruling out the possibility of other

Smallpox is a viral infection caused by Variola major. This infection is currently one of the most dreaded diseases, and is believed to be more dangerous than the enemy’s sword. The exposure is usually an infection of the respiratory tract. After exposure, early symptoms are: headaches, back aches, fever, vomiting, discomfort, and feeling out of sorts. These symptoms go away usually in two days, and the patient feels better. Then about two days later, the patient has a flustered face, and lesions on the mouth, throat, and nasal membranes. At 5 days past exposure, red rashes and bumps appear on the skin, bleeding through skin, and mucous membranes. If the patients bleeds through their eyes, gums, or nose, the patient will not live much longer, but that is not usually the case. The bumps may touch each other or they may be separate from each other. If the bumps do not touch, the patients has a good chance of surviving. But if the bumps do touch, the patient has a forty percent chance of surviving. Dehydration is common in patients because it may be painful or difficult to drink. Around day ten, the bumps will become soft, and blisters will form. The fluid in the bumps is absorbed because of dehydration. A smell often comes from cracked bumps, and a second bacterial infection may occur due to the openings in the body. Two weeks after initial symptoms, the bumps and blisters are replaced by scabs. One week later the fever disappears, the patient returns to a normal life, and the

The first case of smallpox was found on the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses V in the 3rd Century BCE. After Egypt, in the 4th Century, variola is thought to have spread to China, where people prayed to the god Yo Hoa Long to try to prevent themselves getting sick, of course, this was to no prevail. After spreading to China, because of the increasing trade with Japan and Korea, smallpox spread even further. This deadly pathogen spread quickly, as somebody only needed to be breathed on, and they could be infected. During the 7th century, smallpox was widespread throughout India and was quickly spreading towards northern Africa, Spain, and Portugal because of the expansion of Arabic people. 300 years later, in the 10th century, variola crept into Asia Minor and modern-day Portugal. During the Crusades in the 11th century, smallpox spread further throughout Europe and infect many more unsuspecting people. Smallpox spreads to northern England, which was previously not affected by this deadly disease. When Smallpox spread to Northern England, it caused multiple outbreaks that traveled as far north as Iceland. Smallpox at this point had already killed people from Egypt all the way to Northern Europe and was not stopping there. In the 15th-16th Century, smallpox was spread through Portuguese traders into Africa. European colonization and the African slave trade spread Variola

Smallpox is a highly contagious infectious disease. The type of microbe for smallpox is the Variola virus. Smallpox is caused by either the Variola major or the Variola Minor. This virus is spread by direct contact. The disease was likely to be in human populations about 10,000 BC. An epidemic broke out in 1519 with the Aztecs and the Conquistadors in Tenochtitlan Mexico. The epidemic killed a total of twenty five percent of the Aztecs population leaving it easy for Cortes and the conquistadors to take over the desired

Smallpox doesn’t seem to show as many similar symptoms as typhoid fever. Its symptoms include a very high level of contagiousness, high fever, vomiting, headache, postules, possible blindness, possible male infertility, and immunity to fatal relapse (Kiple). This disease shows symptoms similar to those of the plague, but some are different than those of typhoid. This disease, like typhoid, existed before or at the time of the plague (Kiple). Some cases of smallpox were found in ancient Egypt, which is one of the places where the plague started before it carried over to Greece (Kiple). Kiple writes in his article, “The face, neck, and shoulders of the mummy of Pharaoh Ramses V, who died in 1157 B.C, is disfigured by a rash of elevated postules.” This quote shows that smallpox existed long before the plague and also caused postules similar to those of the plague. There are a couple reasons why it may not have been the cause, but the main is because it did not yield a product when being tested on dental pulps (Papagrigorakis). Another reason is because in some countries, smallpox only affected children, while the plague affected everyone. Then again, if a Pharaoh had been infected, assuming they are an adult, and they brought the disease over to Greece. There is a big chance that smallpox affected all ages in Greece as well, therefore making it a possible cause of the

Smallpox is a contagious deadly disease that can easily be transferred from one person to another either by face-to-face contact or direct contact with bodily fluids such as sweat and saliva from someone who’s infected such as sneezing, coughing, or skin touching. They can also spread from being in contact with contaminated objects as well. Those who are infected usually doesn’t know they are infected until 7-17 days later when they start developing flu like symptoms such as a high fever beyond 101 Fahrenheit, fatigue, headache, and backache. The only way for doctors to diagnose this disease is by checking its main and most common feature. The appearance of smallpox are pus-filled blisters that forms on the skin during illness and the number of those blisters increases over time as shown in the picture below, and eventually they becomes scabs. The person will continuously remain infectious and contagious until the last remaining scab separates from the body.

Smallpox, an acute contagious disease, was one of the world's most devastating diseases known to humanity. Variola major and Variola minor are two recognized forms of smallpox. Both of them are double-stranded DNA viruses of the orthopoxvirus family. Compared to Variola minor, Variola major is more virulent with 30% of mortality rate and it has historically been more prevalent. Variola minor is considered rather mild with lower mortality rates. The pustular rashes on the mummified body of Pharaoh Ramses V of Egypt was probably the first physical evidence of smallpox. Earliest incontrovertible description of the smallpox occurred in year 581, Bishop Gregory observed and described some characteristic symptoms of the smallpox. In the 9th century,

Most vaccines contain a dead virus, but not the smallpox vaccine. It contains a live virus; therefore, it must be carefully handled because it can easily be transmitted. Once a person gets smallpox they become immune to it. A smallpox vaccine only lasts three to five years. Most people who get smallpox first experience lesions on their tongue and then it spreads around their face. Also, the Latin word pox means ‘spotted’, which refers to the red bumps on their bodies. Scientists worry about smallpox being used for bioterrorism and fear it will be altered into an even more deadly and contagious virus. Smallpox is still being tested and researched

The earliest case of smallpox according to a journal published in the US National Library of Medicine titled, “Edward Jenner and the History of Smallpox and Vaccination” was recorded as early as 1122 BC. (Riedel “Smallpox the Origin of a Disease”). Mankind’s triumph over this horrible disease was initiated by an English doctor named Edward Jenner. Through observations and experimentation, Jenner would create a procedure now known as vaccination. (Riedel “Edward Jenner”). During the next two centuries, vaccinations would be used worldwide to stop the spread of small pox. After the successful worldwide vaccination campaign led by the World Health Organization, small pox was eradicated worldwide in 1980. As a result of the eradication of smallpox according

Smallpox became an epidemic in more recent times, but its history seems to be much longer than that. For millions of years, smallpox was only found in animals. It was often mild to asymptomatic when carried by animals, but somehow along the way, it found a new host (Tucker 6). One of the oldest cases found was of the Pharaoh Ramses V, one of the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. When 20th century scientists went to examine his body, they found it covered in pustules and lesions. It’s believed that he had Smallpox, and if he did, he

Smallpox is transmitted by direct contact. Face to face contact is required to spread the virus. It can also spread by “infected bodily fluids” or also “contaminated object like bedding or clothing”. The symptoms of smallpox are sometimes vomiting, fever, malaise, and body aches. If people have the symptoms of fever it’s in range of “101” or “104” degrees fahrenheit.