Smallpox was once one of the most severe infectious diseases that was endemic throughout the world for most of the recorded history. It is caused by variola virus (a DNA virus and a member of the Poxviridae family), and characterized by three phases: incubation, prodrome and rash. This disease killed and disfigured innumerable millions of people globally.
The origin of smallpox
The historians believe that smallpox appeared around 10 000 B.C. during the first agricultural settlements in northeastern Africa. From there it spread to India by means of ancient Egyptian merchants. Furthermore, observations of typical skin rashes on Egyptian mummies dating from 1100 to 1580 B.C. give credence to theories that ancient Egypt was an early region with endemic smallpox.
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It is estimated that smallpox was introduced to Europe between the 5th and 7th centuries, with frequent epidemics during the Middle Ages.
The disease was generally confined to the Eurasian landmass before the 15th century; however, European colonists introduced smallpox to the Americas (but also Africa and Australia) between 15th and 18th century with devastating case-fatality rates that approached 90%. It is generally believed that this was instrumental in the fall of the empires of the Aztecs and the Incas.
By the end of 19th century a milder and less lethal form of smallpox (also known as variola minor) became apparent in the USA. Originally described as Amass (alastrim in South America), this variant of the virus eventually got recognized in Brazil during the 1970s, as well as in Ethiopia and Somalia during the 1970s.
Variolation and
There are several different kinds of communicable diseases in today’s society. Smallpox happens to be one. Smallpox is considered to be a contagious, and fatal infectious disease. Smallpox has been existence for over 200 years, and the first known outbreak strated in Eruope and traveled to India and parts of Asia. “The pox part of smallpox is derived from the Latin word for “spotted” and refers to the raised bumps that appear on the face and body of an infected person,” (CDC, 2016, para 1). Smallpox is caused by the Variola virus. There are two clinical forms of smallpox, Variola major and minor. The most common form of smallpox is Variola major which is the most severe. “The last case of smallpox in the United States was in 1949. The last
In addition to the factors that contributed to smallpox’s eradication this paper will focus on answering three questions: What was the main component that led to smallpox’s eradication? What factor caused global concern and led to the development of an effective vaccine? What made smallpox easier to contain compared to other life threatening diseases?
Origin: Around 10,000 BC, the deadly disease, called smallpox came into existence in northeastern Africa and rapidly spread throughout the world through merchants and trade, infecting all the classes of society. Around 430 BC, it became apparent that survivors of smallpox were immune the disease. And from then, the
the first of the once-common diseases is smallpox, smallpox was a contagious viral disease that left terrible scars all over the skin of its victims. Smallpox declared its 30th anniversary of eradication in 2010, this was achieved by the globally coordinates use in national immunization programs of effective vaccines. The last naturally occurring case was in 1977, in addition to the availability of effective vaccines good infrastructure was established worldwide. This led to the world embracing the production, supply and administration of the smallpox vaccine. Diagnosis of disease, efficient surveillance, training and public health information were important elements in successfully getting rid of smallpox.
Smallpox was one of the most deadliest diseases of mankind. Smallpox broke out in india and egypt around 3000 years ago BCE. Not only was smallpox a devastating disease, it altered the face of mankind and civilization. Multiple attempts to cure and get rid of smallpox occurred, yet it took about two centuries to actually get rid of this deadly disease. Signs and Symptoms of smallpox was the blistering and pimples of the
Global smallpox incidence began to decline rapidly, partly due to the provision of sufficient quantities of heat-stable vaccine of assured potency. The earliest successes occurred in a contiguous bloc of 21 western and central African countries, which became smallpox-free in merely three and a half years.
Smallpox is indeed a very infectious disease that had taken many lives in the past. I really enjoyed reading your board because you had made a very positive connection between cultural practices and human infectious diseases, Edward Jenner discovering a vaccine that had saved many lifes. Vaccines are a very important and without them, the human population numbers would
The cause of smallpox is variola virus which is an example of an exclusive anthroponotic agent. This infectious disease plagued global health from the earliest documented settlements through nearly the end of the 20th century, with mortalities of 10–40%. It took the coordinated efforts of the world community (under the guidance of the World Health Organization) to successfully eradicate smallpox.
Clinical descriptions of the disease indicate that smallpox always had a high case-fatality rate until around the end of the 19th century, when a more benign form of the disease (with a similar rash but substantially lower mortality rate) emerged in the Western
Smallpox is a deadly disease that caused death and trauma for a long period of time (WHO). Smallpox supposedly started three thousand years ago in Egypt. As people traded from country to country, so was smallpox. Smallpox was extremely deathly, that 3 out of ten people died. (WHO) Smallpox is caused by a infection with the variola virus. (Mayo Clinic) A person coughing, sneezing, or even talking can transmit smallpox.(Mayo Clinic) A fever was usually the first symptom of Smallpox. After a couple days rashes would occur on the individual and sores would surround the inside of the mouth and nose. (The College of Physicians and Philadelphia) It started to spread so much that the people called it the epidemic disease. The Revolutionary
There are several epidemics in the world, but the one that stands out the most and has a large affect on people is smallpox. An epidemic is a widespread occurrence of and infectious disease in a community at a particular time. There are several epidemics and lots of them are very dangerous and can lead to very severe sickness or even death. For example there are more diseases that land in the epidemic “family” such as HIV, AIDS, Herpes, and Gonorrhea just to give you an idea on however I am going to talk about smallpox. HIV is the disease and AIDS is the virus leading to the final stage of HIV disease, which causes severe damage to the immune system. Herpes is and infection of the lip, mouth and gums due to the
Smallpox is provoked by the virus variola. It infiltrates through the lungs and is transferred in the blood to numerous internal organs. It is then dispersed to the skin, where it causes a rash. This “treatment” for the virus had already been
Smallpox used to be a really dangerous disease, but it isn’t so threatening anymore. Smallpox is spread by saliva, when an infected person coughs, talks, or sneezes. It can also be spread by skin-to-skin contact or blood products. The common symptoms that people have when they are about to get smallpox is similar to the ones we get when we have a flu. For example high fever, headache, backache, and most importantly rashes.
Smallpox is a very contagious infectious disease that impacted the lives of people for thousands of years. After decades of eradication
Smallpox also has a record of decimating or contributing to the demise of great empires. The first stages of the decline of the Roman Empire coincided with an epidemic, the plague of Antonine, which caused the demise of approximately 3.5-7 million individuals. Smallpox also played a role in the destruction of the Aztec and Inca empires, brought over by the Spanish and the Portuguese conquistadors. With the introduction of Spaniards in Mexico in 1518, the population of natives declined from 25 million inhabitants to 1.6 million in 1620(Encarta 2000). The devastating effects of smallpox also gave way to its use as a biological weapon. The first known example of smallpox being used in that manner was found in a letter written to Colonel Henry Bouquet in 1763, where a Sir Jeffery Amherst, commander-in-chief of the British forces stationed in North America, suggested the