Smallpox : A Dangerous And Highly Contagious Disease

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 was a highly infectious virus that spread easily through contact with infected people or objects contaminated with the disease. The vrius was deadly and killed thirty percent of people who caught it. The disease was known as a “brick-shaped virus,” which originated from the variola virus. The disease spread when an infected person sneezed or coughed. The droplets from their nose or mouth spread and would then infect another person. The virus could also spread through contaminated objects, such as clothing, or bedding. Most commonly, smallpox entered the body through the nose or the throat. The disease then spread to the lungs, where it grew and traveled to the lymphatic system. The first symptoms included vomiting, head and body aches,

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 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

Smallpox is extremely dangerous because there is no known cure. Smallpox can spread through the air and physical contact with the pox marks or anything that the pox marks touch. The Variola Virus spread so quickly that it caused over 50 million infections per year. Symptoms of Smallpox include vomiting, chills, fever, rashes, malaise, blisters,

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 comes from variola major virus. It is transmitted through inhalation by droplet infection (contact with contagious body fluids). Individuals can also become infected through direct contact with contaminated clothing or bedding. There are two types of smallpox. The Variola virus; major and minor. The more deadly form of the virus, Variola major, generally killed up to twenty five percent of the people infected and accounted for over ninety percent of all cases (Sherman, 2007). Populations that had never been exposed to the virus would however have fatality rates that would exceed fifty percent. The Variola minor pathogen had a rate of death that was much lower. At two percent it was more common in Europe in the17th century before the deadlier pathogen of the virus was reintroduced. It then became a common and

Imagine a quick spreading rash throughout the entire body, leaving not a single space behind; every opening and crevice in your body, including your mouth and eyes covered in painful bumps accompanied by high fever and severe body aches. Flat red spots transforming into fluid-filled lesions and soon oozing out yellow pus, evidently emitting a pungent odor to anyone who dared get close. The live virus present in the darkening crusty scabs that would soon fall off only to leave behind a deep pitted scarred filled complexion on anyone who was fortunate enough to survive. These scars would be forever remembered as the hallmark for the smallpox epidemic which tormented the world for over 3,000 years. (Riedel “Deadly Diseases”).

Smallpox is a serious infectious disease caused by the variola virus that is contagious. Since 1980, smallpox has been eliminated by vaccination. Research is still being conducted today on smallpox.

Smallpox is one of the most lethal virus’ known to man. It is devastating to individual systems, and it’s high level of contagion makes it a major threat to populations, as seen historically, before mass vaccination was available. For many years before an understanding about the virus was developed, thousands suffered and died from it, with no relief except perhaps that of a comforting nurse. As scientific inquiry advanced, so did the approach to dealing with the virus, beginning with its primitive inoculation, to it's eradication from the natural environment. In recent years, the study of the virus has lead to harnessing it in the laboratory with the constant threat of biological warfare. The virus now lays dormant in freezers of American

Smallpox is only infectious disease to ever be eradicated worldwide. It was one of the most frightening diseases, from its very long history, to its many variants, to the symptoms of the often lethal disease, to the incredibly high deaths, to the treatments that helped end it, to the final eradication of the disease, to its containment, to the fears of it being used in bioterrorism today.

Smallpox has been a feared disease throughout history due to huge epidemics resulting in a large number of deaths (Carson- Dewitt 2006). The name Smallpox, or the Variola Virus, was common around 570 AD and introduced by Bishop Marious of Avenches. Variola derives from the Latin word various meaning stained or various or mark on the skin (Milton 2012). Milder patterns of the virus can be called cotton pox, white pox, and the Cuban itch (OMICS International 2006). The word smallpox was first used in 15th century England in order to tell the difference between syphilis called “great pocks”, and the variola virus (Riley 2006).

Have you ever wondered why smallpox is so deadly? Or why the disease spreads so wildly on the skin of a person? In today’s society most people don’t know what the lethal virus that has taken a great toll on their ancestor’s lives was. Smallpox has ruined human beings throughout the years. The disease has taken lives from all different age groups. Today I will be talking about how the disease affects a person, the biology of the organism, and the economic costs.

Smallpox can be caused by two different viruses called variola major and variola minor. The most deadly out of the two is variole major and it is estimated that 30% of the people who get the disease die. However, variola minor is a lot less deadly and causes death to around 1% of people infected with the disease.

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