SMALLPOX DON’T YOU WISH THAT YOU COULD STILL GET IT!!! By: Kristen Kaehler

What is it ???  Smallpox is a contagious, disfiguring and often deadly disease caused by the variola virus.  Once you're infected, the virus immediately begins replicating inside your cells — first in the lymph nodes and then in your spleen and bone marrow.  Eventually, the virus settles in the blood vessels in your skin and the mucous membranes of your nose and throat.  When the lesions in your mouth slough off, large amounts of virus are released into your saliva. This is when you're most likely to transmit the disease to others.

How is it spread?  Smallpox usually requires face-to-face contact to spread. It's most often transmitted in air droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. In rare instances, airborne virus may spread further, possibly through the ventilation system in a building, infecting people in other rooms or on other floors. Smallpox can also spread through contact with contaminated clothing and bedding, although the risk of infection from these sources is slight.

Two main types Variola minor Less fatal, less than I% of people who contract it actually die Variola major Kills one-third of people who contracted this disease

Rare forms  Hermorrhagic smallpox  Characterized by red, pinpoint rash and bleeding in the skin and mucous membrane.  Almost always fatal within 3 to 4 days  Flat smallpox  Same as other forms of the disease, but the lesions never fill with pus. Skin appears rubbery. There is bleeding in the skin and intestinal tract.

Signs and symptoms  During the incubation period of seven to 17 days, you look and feel healthy and can't infect others. The first symptoms of smallpox usually appear 12 to 14 days after you're infected.  Following the incubation period, a sudden onset of flu- like signs and symptoms occurs. These include:  Fever  A feeling of bodily discomfort (malaise)  Headache  Severe fatigue (prostration)  Severe back pain  Sometimes vomiting, diarrhea or both

Rashes, Lesions and Pus  A few days later, the characteristics small pox appears as flat, red spots.  Many of these lesions turn into small blisters filled with clear fluid (vesicles) and later, with pus (pustules).  The rash appears first on your face, hands and forearms and later on the trunk. It's usually most noticeable on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. Lesions also develop in the mucous membranes of your nose and mouth. The way the lesions are distributed is a hallmark of smallpox and a primary way of diagnosing the disease.  When the pustules erupt, the skin doesn't break, but actually separates from its underlying layers. The pain can be excruciating. Scabs begin to form eight to nine days later and eventually fall off, leaving deep, pitted scars. All lesions in a given area progress at the same rate through these stages. People who don't recover usually die during the second week of illness.

Treatment No cure for smallpox exists. There is some evidence that cidofovir — an antiviral medication normally used to treat an infection known as cytomegalovirus (CMV) — might prevent smallpox if it's given within a day or two of exposure. The smallpox vaccine itself can prevent or lessen the severity of the disease if given within four days of infection. But neither of these is useful once signs and symptoms develop. For now, the best that doctors can offer people with symptomatic smallpox is supportive therapy and antibiotics to prevent secondary infections.

Too bad… stupid WHO  Smallpox vaccine In 1967, the WHO launched a global immunization campaign to eradicate smallpox. At that time, millions of people died of smallpox every year. The WHO's efforts were remarkably effective, and the last naturally occurring case of smallpox was reported in In 1980, smallpox vaccinations were discontinued worldwide.

Interesting facts  The United States has enough vaccine to vaccinate everyone in the U.S.  Stocks of smallpox virus, set aside for research purposes, are officially stored in two high-security labs — one in the United States and one in Siberia. This has lead to concerns that smallpox someday may be used as a biological warfare agent.

More useless info  Believed to be originated 3000 years ago in Egypt or India.  In some ancient cultures, smallpox was such a major killer of infants that custom forbade the naming of a newborn until the infant had caught the disease and proved it would survive.  Smallpox killed Queen Mary II of England, Emperor Joseph I of Austria, King Luis I of Spain, Tsar Peter II of Russia, Queen Ulrika Elenora of Sweden, and King Louis XV of France.

Fun Stuff  Blindness was another complication. In 18th century Europe, a third of all reported cases of blindness was due to smallpox. In a survey conducted in Viet Nam in 1898, 95% of adolescent children were pockmarked and nine-tenths of all blindness was ascribed to smallpox.  They used to confuse Chickenpox and smallpox.  Animals do not carry this disease.  Some experts say that over the centuries it has killed more people than all other infectious diseases combined. Worldwide immunization stopped the spread of smallpox three decades ago. The last case was reported in 1977.

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