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What Is Small Pox?

Smallpox is a disease caused by infection from a virus named Variola vera. The disease has no treatment, but it is prevented through vaccination. Smallpox was eradicated worldwide in 1980. However, it's still a governmental concern for its bioterrorism capabilities. Some labs in the United States hold the virus for research purposes.

  1. Symptoms

    • The symptoms from the smallpox virus occur a couple of weeks after infection. Patients who are infected with the disease are asymptomatic during the incubation period, but they are still unable to infect others. Before physical signs appear, the patient feels fatigue and experiences headache, fever and vomiting. Patients may also have back pain. After these symptoms appear, blisters form on the face, trunk and extremities. These pustules are accompanied by lesions on the nose.

    Causes

    • The smallpox virus is spread from respiratory droplets. A patient is infected after being exposed to an infected person after coughing, sneezing or talking. The virus travels through the lymphatic system including lymph node and spleen. The virus then travels to the bone marrow where it is spread to blood vessels. The settling in the blood vessels is the cause of the symptoms. The virus creates blisters in the facial area and is shed to the mouth and saliva. Smallpox is also spread through bedsheets and clothing from an infected person.

    Diagnosis

    • Smallpox is a major health concern, so it is treated seriously. If a person is suspected to have a smallpox infection, the doctor first makes a physical exam and takes blood samples to send to a laboratory. Because of the seriousness of the infection, the doctor will report the infection to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

    Treatment

    • There is no cure for smallpox, so patients who are infected are isolated. The patient will receive immediate vaccination, but vaccines do not cure the disease once the symptoms are shown. Patients are treated for symptoms and receive antibiotics to eliminate any type of secondary infection. Smallpox is a bioterrorism tool, so research continues for a treatment. One drug that has been shown to help treat smallpox is cidofovir.

    Prevention

    • The best prevention of smallpox is through vaccination. However, the vaccine requirement was discontinued since the virus has been eradicated. The World Health Organization (WHO) created a global campaign to vaccinate people against smallpox. The last reported case of smallpox occurred in 1977, so the vaccine is no longer administered. The CDC still holds vaccinations for the U.S. population in case of a re-emergence of the virus.

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