Smallpox

By Braden Johnson and Kaleb Decker

Transmission

Smallpox spreads easily from one person to another from saliva droplets. It may also be spread from bed sheets and clothing.

It is most contagious during the first week of infection.

It may continue to be contagious until the scabs from the rash fall off.

Symptoms

Symptoms of Smallpox include Backache, Delirium, Diarrhea, Excessive bleeding, Fatigue, High Fever, Malaise, Raised Pink Rash, Severe headache, and Vomiting

Treatment

If the vaccine is given 1-4 days after contraction of the disease it may help to prevent or less the severity of the illness.

There is no drug used specifically for the treatment of smallpox.

Most often used to help is the use of antibiotics.

Prevalence

Over 120,000 cases were reported in the US in 1921.

However, by 1939, fewer than 50 people were reported to die of smallpox each year.

The worldwide death toll until the complete eradication of the disease stood at 300-500 million.

Prevention

Nowadays, if there is a reported case of the smallpox, that person will be isolated in the hospital until they are deemed completely free of the virus.

Also, to prevent any other epidemics of the disease, the governments of almost all countries around the world had all the disease eradicated, so that there would no longer be smallpox epidemics around the globe.

Past Experiences of the World

Many instances in the past dealt with smallpox, such as the ancient civilization of the Aztecs were completely wiped out by smallpox whenever the Spanish conquered the Americas.

Also was the eradication of many Native Americans whenever the British sent settlers overseas to North America. They didn’t have the immunity to the disease that the Europeans had, since they have had several thousand years of exposure, and the disease spread like wildfire, ravaging throughout the Americas and killing tens of thousands of Natives in just the first year alone.

Current State in the World

To this day, there has been no new confirmed cases of smallpox since the eradication of years many years ago.

Also, all of the governments in almost all parts of the world have agreed to never allow the spread of the disease again.

References

"12,000 Years of Plague: Smallpox." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. http://www.infoplease.com/cig/dangerous-diseases-epidemics/smallpox-12000-years-terror.html

Board, A.D.A.M. Editorial. Smallpox. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 18 Jan. 0001. 11 Mar. 2013.