Chapter four of Viruses, Plagues, and History, entitled Smallpox, provided a broad spectrum of information about smallpox as well as exploring its potential to return and once again cause death and devastation. I found this chapter to be especially terrifying because of the stress put on the fact that smallpox could be weaponized by bioterrorists. All of the information about smallpox itself as well as its history as a virus and a weapon really scared me because it could cause so much devastation.
Despite smallpox’s long history of harm, killing nearly 300 million people in the twentieth century alone, it is now considered eradicated thanks to a vaccine and vaccination program lead by the World Health Organization. Because of its eradication,
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The earliest indicator of smallpox in history is the extensive lesions on three Egyptian mummies. There are also recorded cases from the Hitties (1346 BC), Syracuse (595 BC), Athens (490 BC), China (48AD), Korean Peninsula (583 AD), and Japan (585 AD), however, they are not definite cases because these ancient physicians were unable to distinguish smallpox rashes from other skin rashes. Nevertheless, this distinction was made in 910 AD by physician Al-Razi. As Islam spread across North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, smallpox followed. By 1000 AD, smallpox epidemics were widely recorded from Japan to Spain. In the 16th century, smallpox outbreaks hit large cities such as London and Geneva, and exploration across oceans facilitated the spread of smallpox as well to the Americas, Australia, and South Africa. In the Americas, natives were seen as lesser and put to work in mines and on plantations where the combination of poor working conditions and European disease thinned out their population. This encouraged the importation of slaves from Africa as replacements and eventual establishment of slave trade to the New World. Smallpox outbreaks killed many natives, starting in Hispaniola and spreading to Cuba, the Yucatan, and other parts of Mexico. The spread was almost systematic, and due to the nature of smallpox, affected isolated, indigenous populations. Even after Edward Jenner created a successful vaccine for smallpox, it remained a serious threat, as many people, especially in rural areas were not
The book is primarily an account of the Smallpox Eradication Program (1967–80), the ongoing perception by the U.S. government that smallpox is still a potential bioterrorism agent, and the controversy over whether or not the remaining samples of smallpox virus in Atlanta and Moscow (the “demon” in the freezer) should be finally destroyed.
What is smallpox? The internet has defined it as an “acute contagious immune disease, with fever and pustules (small bumps on the skin filled with pus) that will usually will leave scars.” Smallpox originated in India and Egypt over 3,000 years ago. After that it slowly started to progress to other areas across the world. It then started to show itself in places like Africa, Europe and then after a few years later, finally made it’s way into the Americas during the 1500’s.
Smallpox was a very devastating disease during the mid-1700’s and killed over 400,000 people annually across Europe. Smallpox spread rapidly and was a very contagious disease. Smallpox was caused by the variola virus and after being infected with the disease people would experience symptoms that included headaches, chills, backaches, fever, rashes along with a breakout of pimples. People who were infected with the variola virus would recuperate, however, three out of ten people would die. Fortunately, in July 1796, a rural physician named Edward Jenner found the variolation procedure to prevent people from developing the severe virus of smallpox.
The Ruination of Smallpox Diseases have been around since the beginning of time. Some have come and gone without being noticed. Others however, have come and destroyed civilizations. They can do everything from causing a cough to viciously scaring their victims and in the worst cases, even killing them. The worst of all of them is Smallpox.
Despite the disappearance of the plague, smallpox still ran rampant throughout the world. The terrible disease continued to kill millions of Europeans every year. An inoculation created in the early 1700s was a somewhat successful solution and thousands of Europeans underwent the operation to engraft their skin with smallpox (Doc 2). However, new, more efficient solution came in the form of Edward Jenner, who created the first smallpox vaccine by collecting cowpox from an infected person and inserting it into another individual’s arm (Doc 6). Edward Jenner’s new vaccine was virtually harmless and was the most efficient vaccination to date. The smallpox vaccine eradicated the disease in Europe and eventually, the entire world. Smallpox was the last great disease that Europeans faced and its elimination allowed Europe’s population to grow and
One of the 1st people to get smallpox was Pharaoh Ramses V. In the year of 1967 over 131,000 cases occurred from 42 countries. Now, no-one has smallpox.
A smallpox outbreak could be devastating to the population without proper precautions. There were also a few cases of smallpox outbreaks due to a patient being misdiagnosed. For example, Colette Flight states, "Muzza had been misdiagnosed as suffering from a bad reaction to penicillin". Colette also states, "Janet Parker was infected with smallpox, but was initially diagnosed as a drug rash". We can learn from history that smallpox does spread easily.
Smallpox is caused by the variola virus an extremely contagious disease. That can be spread through any type of contact with the virus. The virus is a member of the genus Orthopoxvirus, in the Poxviridae family. Smallpox has been considered eradicated in the United States since 1972. Virologists have speculated that it evolved from an African rodent poxvirus 10 millennia ago. The name is derived from the Latin word for "spotted" and refers to the raised bumps on the face and body of the patient. (Medscape.com) Smallpox has been to blame for the extinction and almost extinction of many cultures. The disease has been used as biological warfare since the beginning or war. At times,
smallpox, it has high fatality rate, the infectious dose is small, and the virus is relatively stable and aerosol” (the UPMC Center for Health Security, 2014).
Many scholars concluded the smallpox disease first emerged among settled agricultural populations in the Mesopotamia’s as early as the 5th millennium BC. Egyptian pharaoh Ramses V who died in c.1156 BC possesses indications of pustules characteristic of smallpox on his mummified body. There is also a possibility that the origin of the great plague of Athens in 430 BC was smallpox and that it was carried to Italy by a Roman army returning from Mesopotamia around AD 165. Throughout the years, it was slowly spread throughout the world. Smallpox would be considered one of the world’s most dreaded plagues, killing as many as 30% of its victims, which were mostly children. [1]
Smallpox was eradicated in 1980 by the Center for Disease and control. It is now contained in five labs in the United States and Russia, however there are other labs in the world with smallpox. Smallpox is created from the virus Variola which inoculates itself through the skin and into the dermis or more commonly from prolonged, direct face to face contact. Smallpox incubates for as long as two weeks at which time it is multiplying in the lymph nodes and bone marrow. The virus is also able to enter the blood stream and travel through without being harmed by macrophages. The variola virus also causes monkeypox and cowpox however none of these are as bad or as fatal as smallpox.
Smallpox was the main imperative illness to be killed; it was the accomplishment of the Smallpox Eradication Program that enlivened this gathering. A few natural reasons supported the annihilation of smallpox, the most essential of which were likely that intermittent infectivity did not happen, that there was no creature repository, and that a viable stable antibody was accessible. The significance of smallpox as a malady that explorers may import into nations free of smallpox gave an intense boost to its worldwide destruction. This paper highlights a portion of the issues connected with the annihilation of smallpox in two nations where destruction was troublesome, India and Ethiopia, and the measures received to defeat the issues. The paper
Smallpox is a deadly disease that caused death and trauma for a long period of time (WHO). Smallpox supposedly started three thousand years ago in Egypt. As people traded from country to country, so was smallpox. Smallpox was extremely deathly, that 3 out of ten people died. (WHO) Smallpox is caused by a infection with the variola virus. (Mayo Clinic) A person coughing, sneezing, or even talking can transmit smallpox.(Mayo Clinic) A fever was usually the first symptom of Smallpox. After a couple days rashes would occur on the individual and sores would surround the inside of the mouth and nose. (The College of Physicians and Philadelphia) It started to spread so much that the people called it the epidemic disease. The Revolutionary
Smallpox is an illness caused by the variola virus. It has been around for thousands of years, however according to MayoClinic, “Naturally occurring small pox was eradicated worldwide by 1980 the result of an unprecedented global immunization campaign”. Symptoms of this disease include fever, headache, severe fatigue, vomiting and a few days’ later red spots begin to appear on the face. The most common strain of smallpox variola major, has an overall death rate of 30% while the least common variola minor, with less than a 1% death rate (CDC, 2007). Currently this disease has been eradicated however there are concerns that it can be used as a weapon against the country. There is no cure at the moment for smallpox however there are vaccines that prevent the disease (MayoClinic, 2014).
A great many years prior, the smallpox infection rose and started causing sickness and passing’s in human populaces, with smallpox episodes happening every now and then. (Johnson, 2016). Because of the accomplishment of immunization, the last common flare-up of smallpox in the United States happened in 1949. (Johnson, 2016). In 1980, the World Health Assembly proclaimed smallpox annihilated, and no instances of normally happening smallpox have occurred since. (Johnson, 2016). Smallpox is a greatly infectious and savage infection for which there is no known cure. Smallpox is otherwise called variola. (Johnson, 2016). Since the season of antiquated Egypt, smallpox has turned out to be a standout amongst the most crushing maladies to mankind. Boundless smallpox pandemics and tremendous losses of life fill the pages of our history books. (Johnson, 2016). The primary smallpox immunization was made in 1758. (Johnson, 2016) In any case, the malady kept on contaminating and slaughtering individuals on an across the basis reason for an additional 200 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) actualized a strict immunization standard with a specific end goal to moderate the disease rate. The last known normal case happened in 1977 in Somalia. (Johnson, 2016).