Variola Major Essay

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.

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.

There are many mysteries about the smallpox virus. Since the seventeenth century, doctors have understood that if the pustules merge into sheets across the body the victim will usually die: the virus has split the whole skin. If the victim survives, the pustules turn into scabs and fall off, leaving scars. This is known as ordinary smallpox.

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,

The earliest indicator of smallpox in history is the extensive lesions on three Egyptian mummies. There are also recorded cases from the Hitties (1346 BC), Syracuse (595 BC), Athens (490 BC), China (48AD), Korean Peninsula (583 AD), and Japan (585 AD), however, they are not definite cases because these ancient physicians were unable to distinguish smallpox rashes from other skin rashes. Nevertheless, this distinction was made in 910 AD by physician Al-Razi. As Islam spread across North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, smallpox followed. By 1000 AD, smallpox epidemics were widely recorded from Japan to Spain. In the 16th century, smallpox outbreaks hit large cities such as London and Geneva, and exploration across oceans facilitated the spread of smallpox as well to the Americas, Australia, and South Africa. In the Americas, natives were seen as lesser and put to work in mines and on plantations where the combination of poor working conditions and European disease thinned out their population. This encouraged the importation of slaves from Africa as replacements and eventual establishment of slave trade to the New World. Smallpox outbreaks killed many natives, starting in Hispaniola and spreading to Cuba, the Yucatan, and other parts of Mexico. The spread was almost systematic, and due to the nature of smallpox, affected isolated, indigenous populations. Even after Edward Jenner created a successful vaccine for smallpox, it remained a serious threat, as many people, especially in rural areas were not

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

The brutal symptoms of smallpox reveal why the disease is known as one one of the deadliest in history. Smallpox slowly deteriorates the victim in distinct symptom stages. Symptoms begin to display after approximately ten days since the victim was exposed to the Variola virus. Suddenly, the victim will feel flu-like symptoms including headache, fever, overall discomfort, severe back pain, vomiting, and severe fatigue (“Smallpox.”). Brutal symptoms such as these, unfortunately, are only the beginning for a terrible disease such as smallpox. Next, symptoms become much more visible. After a day or two the forearms, face, and hands will develop flat, red spots. Red spots will eventually develop into small to moderate blisters which are

Smallpox is an acute contagious viral disease, with fever and pustules usually leaving permanent scars. Although there is no cure, there is a vaccine that can help protect you from it. It is called vaccinia and is a poxvirus closely related to the smallpox. Live vaccinia infects the people but it does not make them sick. A smallpox particle can either make or consist of around two hundred different types of protein. In the center of the mulberry of a smallpox particle, there is an odd shape that looks like a dumbbell, this is the

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

Given its rapid and deadly spread, conquers would place an exposed garment within enemy territory and wait. The virus would wipe out entire civilizations in a matter of months. Smallpox spreads rapidly throughout the lymph nodes. The infected person will remain asymptomatic through day 3-4 while the virus works its way through the spleen and bone marrow. This makes for a somewhat anonymous attack. Infection only requires a brief encounter with an exposed person or object. The exposer could appear to be completely healthy. Symptoms do not begin to surface until the 8-12th-day toxemia and fever are occurring. The virus then localizes in the small blood vessels of the dermis. In the earlier years, these symptoms were often confused with other illness. It isn't until approximately day 14, the patient is apparently infectious. The spleen, liver, kidneys, bone marrow and other viscera will contain large amounts of the virus. Lesions on the skin start forming as the capillaries dilate and the endothelial tissues swell. Now, even a lay person can make a visual diagnosis. The plasma cells and macrophages can be seen. The cells increase in size, the cell membranes rupture, leading to vesicular lesions. Migration of polymorphonuclear cells into the vesicles cause postulation. A pustule becomes slowly desiccated causing the crusty/scabby appearance of the lesions. The progression of the disease makes it the perfect weapon. At the point in time that the first infected person is visually diagnosed, they have potentially infected numerous people around them. Causing the deadly virus to almost instantly reach epidemic proportions. In the early days of Smallpox, someone or something had to be the contaminant jeopardizing both civilizations. Today with the conveniences we have such as air travel, running water, and complete mobilization the virus could be easily placed in our society. Given our

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”).

As a brief history, smallpox was a disease that has afflicted and depopulated civilizations from as early as A.D. 400 in ancient India to as late as the 20th century. It is a unique disease because

Smallpox was once one of the most feared diseases, it has killed about 300 million people in the 20th century. Smallpox was once a very feared disease and for good reason. Smallpox was one of the worst diseases to exist. The symptoms were almost unbearable and some lifelong.It killed thousands of people. And there is no cure.

At the time smallpox was the most feared disease and killed up to 33% of the people that came contact with the disease. Smallpox is caused by the virus variola. It enters the body through the lungs and is carried in the blood to the internal organs, which