Smallpox
| Smallpox | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
 Child infected with smallpox. Bangladesh, 1973. In ordinary type smallpox the bumps are filled with a thick, opaque fluid and often have a depression or dimple in the center. This is a major distinguishing characteristic of smallpox. | |
| ICD-10 | B03. |
| ICD-9 | 050 |
| DiseasesDB | 12219 |
| MedlinePlus | 001356 |
| eMedicine | emerg/885 |
| MeSH | D012899 |
Smallpoxwas a dangerousdiseasewith a highmortality rate.It no longer exists as anepidemicdisease.[1]The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977. TheWorld Health Organization(WHO) certified theglobal eradicationof the disease in 1980 (said there was no more).[2]
It was caused by avirus.There are two differentspeciesof viruses that can cause the disease. They areVariola majorandVariola minor.Some people also call smallpoxVariola,from the Latin work for "spotted" which is also the viruses'scientific name.
Onlyhumanscan get this disease, but it probably came from a virus which infected animals.Variola majorkilled between 20% and 40% of those who got it.Variola minorkilled only about 1%. Many people who survived becomeblindbecause of the damage the virus did to theeyes.[3]
During the first half of the20th century,between 300 million and 500 million people died of this disease. Even in 1967, about 15 million people caught the disease, and about two million people died of it, according to theWorld Health Organization(WHO).
The firstvaccinefor smallpox used the results ofcowpoxinfections. It was invented byEdward Jenner.It was used to stop people from getting smallpox. The word "vaccine" came from "vaccina", theLatinword forcow,because cowpox was used. TheWHO(World Health Organisation)vaccinatedpeople all over the world. In 1980, the WHO said the disease no longer existed,[4]and no one would ever get sick from it again. Live copies of smallpox are kept in maximum-security laboratories around the world to make sure the disease can never infect people again.
Some people believe that smallpox could be used as an agent forpurposely infectingenemies in a war. Today, most people no longer receive a smallpox shot.
Related pages
[change|change source]References
[change|change source]- ↑Bazin H. 2000.The eradication of smallpox: Edward Jenner and the first and only eradication of a human infectious disease.Academic Press.ISBN 978-0-12-083475-4
- ↑"Smallpox".WHO Factsheet.Archived fromthe originalon 21 September 2007.
- ↑CNNArchived2012-10-01 at theWayback Machine."Smallpox".
- ↑WHO smallpox FAQ