• First appeared in Northeastern Africa around 10,000 BC.

• First named in England at the end of the 15th century to distinguish from syphilis

• Before 1967 25 lakh people died a year due to smallpox

• Causes viral infections• Disease of the skin

tissue• Infects many internal

organs– First infects Lymph

nodes, and respiratory tract

– Transferred through blood stream

• Caused by pox virus, also known as variola virus

• Brick shaped cells• Two forms

– Variola Major (>20%)

– Variola Minor (<1 %)

• High Fever usually 101- 104 degrees

• Head and body aches with occasional vomiting

• Rash forms on body starting on tongue and then to the mouth

• Raised bumps that are puss filled and blistered

• Survivors are left with permanent scars

Bumps first form orally

• Incubation period- 7-17 days; not contagious• Initial symptoms- 2-4 days; sometimes

contagious• Early rash- about 4 days; most contagious• Pustular rash- about 5 days; contagious• Pustules and scabs- about 5 days; contagious• Resolving scabs- about 6 days; contagious• Scabs resolved- not contagious

• There is no treatment for smallpox • There is a vaccine that can be given

– Not given with a needle– Bifurcated needle (two pronged) dipped in vaccine

solution– Made from a virus called vaccinia which is a virus

related to smallpox– Prick skin on upper arm many times (enough to draw

1 or 2 drops of blood)– This can last 3-5 years– Effective 95% of the time

of the Vaccine• Mild reactions include

sore arm, fever, and body aches

• Some people experience serious to life threatening side effects

• Side effects– Scar where the

vaccine was given– Rash– Fever– Head ache– Body ache

Days 4-21 after smallpox vaccination

People who should not get the Vaccine

• Pregnant women

• HIV positive people

• People with weakened immune systems or that are taking med. that suppress the immune systems

• People receiving treatment for cancer

• Children under 12 months

• People who have received a transplant

• And many others

• Considered “ the most terrible of all the ministers of Death”

• Last natural death due to smallpox was in the case of Ali Maow Maalin, a cook in Somalia, Africa in October 1977

• The last person to die of smallpox was Janet Parker, a British medical Photographer, following a leak in the laboratory in 1978

• On Dec 9th 1979 the World Health Organization declared smallpox as officially eradicated, the world over

Center of Disease Control,Smallpox Disease. (January 2003). Questions and answeres. Retrieved April 15, 2003,

from http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpx/vaccination/facts.asp

Center of Disease Control. The Smallpox Story and the smallpox vaccine.(April 10, 2003). Retrieved April 15, 2003, from

http://stanford.edu/group/virus/pox/history.html

Center of Disease Control. Vaccine Overview. (March 31, 2003). Retrieved

from http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smalpox/vaccination/vaccination

Medi Dates. Smallpox and figures. ( no date). Retrieved April 21, 2003 fromhttp://www.manbir-online.com/htm3/new.38.htm.