1. SMALLPOX Eradication of a virus

2. Definition: Smallpox is an infection caused by the variola virus, a member of the poxvirus family. Description: Smallpox is strictly an infection of human beings.

3. Causes and symptoms Smallpox is a relatively contagious disease, which accounts for its ability to cause massive epidemics.

4. Diagnosis: In modern times, a diagnosis of smallpox is made using an electron microscope to identify virus in fluid from the papules, urine, or in the patient’s blood prior to the appearance of the popular rash.

5. Treatment No treatments have been developed to hat the progression of the disease.

6. Prognosis Approximately one in three patients die from smallpox, with the more severe, hemorrhagic form nearly 100%fatal.

7. Prevention From about the tenth century in China, India, and the Americas,it is noted that individuals who had even a mild case of smallpox could not be infected again.

8. Future concerns Today, two laboratories the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Russian State Centre for Research on Virology and Biotechnology in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region) officially retain samples of the smallpox virus.