All About Smallpox

What Are The Symptoms Of Smallpox

Smallpox is a highly contagious and often deadly infectious disease. As a result of global immunization programs, naturally occurring smallpox has been eradicated throughout the world.

Symptoms of Smallpox

The early signs of smallpox are noticeable within 12-14 days after you have been exposed to someone who is infected. The incubation period is seven to 17 days. During this time, you are not contagious and appear completely healthy. After the incubation period, a person with smallpox will display the following Read the rest of this entry »

How Do You Diagnose And Treat Smallpox

Though officially wiped out in a worldwide public health campaign, smallpox remains a threat for lab workers using existing stockpiles and for populations who may be targeted by biological attack. Symptoms are generally delayed and only appear 12-14 days after initial infection. A raised, pink rash is most characteristic of the disease, and it slowly forms a crust about eight days later. Other symptoms include high fever, severe headaches, back pain, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, excessive bleeding and delirium. Read the rest of this entry »

Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of Smallpox

The other day, I was talking with my Massachusetts home security agent when somehow the subject of smallpox came up. Being the curious mind that I am, I did a little research. Smallpox has been a devastating disease throughout history. Early settlers even used smallpox-infected blankets as an early form of germ warfare against Native Americans. However, the disease is no longer a threat to society – the last case in the U.S. was in 1949.

Overview:

Thought to have originated more than 3,000 years ago in India or Egypt, smallpox is one of the most lethal diseases known to mankind. The virus is extremely contagious, spreading easily through saliva. This usually happens when a person coughs, sneezes or talks while in close contact with another person.

Causes:

Smallpox, caused by the variola virus, exclusively affects humans. This virus is a member of the orthopoxvirus genus, which includes cowpox and monkeypox – not chickenpox. Poxviruses are the only known viruses that don’t require a cell’s nucleus to replicate inside of the cell.

Symptoms:

Smallpox symptoms usually occur around 1-2 weeks after infection. They typically include:
Fever
Body aches
Chills
Headache
Fatigue
Diarrhea
Vomiting
Pink rash
Pus-filled sores that eventually scab

Treatment:

The smallpox vaccine is the only way to treat the disease. However, the general public is no longer given the vaccine because the virus has been eliminated. If a person does happen to get infected, the smallpox vaccine can prevent illness or reduce the severity of it if given within 1-4 days after exposure.

What Are The Types Of Smallpox

The acute contagious disease known as smallpox is from the orthopoxvirus family. All forms of this disease are spread through inhalation and it localizes in the throat and mouth. It surfaces as a rash over the body and then blisters. The disease shows in two main forms throughout human history. The less deadly form, with a one per cent fatality rate, is called variola minor. The deadliest form is called variola major, which has had a fatality rate of thirty per cent in it’s victims.

There are two rare forms of the disease, both being fatal. Read the rest of this entry »

Is There A Vaccine For Smallpox

Smallpox is an infection that is highly contagious. Smallpox can be spread through coughing, sneezing or contact with the scabs from the rash. Signs of Smallpox include a high fever, fatigue and body aches. A few days after these symptoms occur a rash will break out all over the body. Over the next few weeks the red spots from the rash will fill with pus, scab over and eventually fall off.
There is no known cure for Smallpox. The Read the rest of this entry »

When And Where Was Smallpox First Discovered

It is believed that smallpox originated 10,000 years ago in Africa. Since then it has managed to spread to the rest of the nations of the world. It is recorded in history that King Pharaoh Ramses V died from a smallpox infection in the year 1156 BC. There are also other popular occurrences of the virus found in China and India. These occurrences all happened during the BC periods.

The first medically documented case of smallpox was recorded in 1350 B.C. during the war Read the rest of this entry »

What Is The Mortality Rate Of Smallpox

A highly contagious disease, smallpox is caused from the variola virus. The disease can be traced back over 3,000 years to ancient Egypt and India. It has been known to kill as many at 30 percent of the those infected. The remaining survivors are often heavily scarred with pock-marks and some suffer permanent blindness.

Two forms of smallpox exist: variola major and variola minor. Both varieties produce similar skin lesions. The mortality rate of variola minor is only 1 Read the rest of this entry »

What Is Smallpox And How Does It Spread

Smallpox is a now eradicated infectious disease that can be potentially deadly. Over the years with the help of immunizations the infectious disease is now eliminated It is caused by the variola virus which comes in two forms which are variola major and variola minor. Variola major was the cause of the fatal form of smallpox, which had a fatality rate of 30%. The minor form is a less fatal form of the disease with a fatality rate of about 1%.

Smallpox is spread very easily and is highly Read the rest of this entry »