Small Pox History

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.

Smallpox virus's scientific name is variola. It means "spotted" in Latin, and it was given to the disease by a medieval bishop. The virus, as a life form, comes in two subspecies:

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 is an extremely deadly disease which, in one point in time, was the most feared disease on the planet. In the book Pox Americana, Elizabeth A. Fenn writes about the encounter with the deadly disease in the 1770's to the 1780's. Her book was first published in 2001 in New York City, where she originally wrote it. Her book contains just under 400 words that explain the disease, some of the first encounters with it, who and where it affected people, and how they got the epidemic under control. Pox Americana is a very informative book that teaches the reader various things.

Because the smallpox virus attacks the mucus membranes, bone marrow, and lymph nodes of the body, most patients obtain the gruesome disfigurement of the face and nose and limbs.( Bollet

an area infected with smallpox (a markedly less lethal disease than Ebola, and one about

In the case of a bioterrorism attack, the US is well prepared for a smallpox emergency and in combating the disease. Also, in the event of an emergency the public health department both state and local would be responsible for working with healthcare facilities to handle the situation in a fast but calmly manner. The different healthcare facilities would rapidly respond by providing the necessary vaccines to help communities and at the same time be able to prevent the spread of the disease. Therefore, despite that smallpox is not considered a public health threat in the U.S, there are researchers who continue to study and research the disease to develop vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic tests to protect communities in case of a bioterrorism attack (CDC,

When the Europeans had their first contact to the New World, it had a great impact on the spread of diseases that would wiped more than eighty to ninety percent of indigenous population. Neither Europeans nor Native Americans had medicine to fight the diseases. But Europeans had developed throughout the year’s immunities to fight diseases back in their homeland, so they were in a big advantage over the scarce resource that the Native Americans had. One of the main disease that killed millions of indigenous groups was called smallpox. Europeans had been exposed to many diseases throughout their history, in the Old World it was common for children at a young age to be infected with smallpox. So with advanced treatments with smallpox in the Old World, they had a different perspective on how to control these type of diseases. Many indigenous groups had not developed an immunities to fight smallpox. Reference to the book were it mentions that smallpox specifically means not the disease but the pimpled, pustules appearance which is the most obvious symptom of the disease (Crosby, p 43). As a result, many indigenous groups needed to find refuge due to the high percentage of deaths caused by European conquest and

A shot was developed by Edward Jenner at the end of the 1700’s to try to put an end to small pox. The death rate of small pox was spiraling out of control so they tried to put an end to it. The small pox shot was the first ever vaccine that was successful and actually cured people (How Small Pox Changed the World). Edward Jenner tested his theory of infected people with the cow pox virus to make them immune to small pox, and it miraculously worked. Before the vaccine was discovered/established small pox had been sweeping the nation and killing a lot of people in its path for approximately three thousand years. Small pox was spread by contact or even through the

Smallpox killed about 500 million people. It was one of the world's most tragic epidemic. It was thought to have started Egypt 3,000 years ago. Also, it was eradicated in 1980, many people suffered. Smallpox is and was a very scary and dangerous virus.

Humans are believed to have first been infected by smallpox 12,000 years ago, when people began domesticating animals in the time of the earliest agricultural settlements (Youngerman 14; Greenspan 3). In fact, “Ramses V…looks to have had the raised bumps on his face and body for which smallpox was named…,” proving that smallpox may have predated the New Kingdom of Egypt (1570 B.C.—1085 B.C.) (Greenspan 3). Contrary to prior investigation, the most virulent strain of smallpox originated in sub-Saharan Africa, rather than Asia (Porter 36). This information led to the advanced belief that the Atlantic Slave Trade unleashed smallpox and, consequently, death (Porter 36). Although sub-Saharan Africa held the deadliest strain of smallpox, the constant

For approximately three-thousand years, smallpox has ravaged and plagued the four corners of the globe. In fact, in the 17 th and 18 th centuries, it was claimed to be the most infectious disease in the West, with an astounding 90% mortality rate in America. It wasn't until 1796, with English surgeon Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccination, that the world saw relief from this devastating virus. However, even with this inoculation in use, the world continued to witness death from both the virus and the vaccine. In the year 1966, it was estimated that 10-15 million infected citizens world wide had passed away from smallpox that year alone ( “History” 12). As a result of these devastating numbers, in the following year, 1967, the World Health

Until the development of the smallpox vaccine in 1796, inoculation using the live smallpox virus was the only way to protect people from the deadly disease. Those inoculated had a chance of contracting the full virus and potentially dying from the disease. When Edward Jenner discovered that he could use a similar disease found in cattle, he began the modern era of vaccination (The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 2015). Over the next 200 years, smallpox was essentially driven extinct by vaccination programs. Due to vaccines, a disease that killed an estimated 300 million people in the 20th century alone now only exists in a Center for Disease Control laboratory. (Flight, 2011).

The earliest case of smallpox according to a journal published in the US National Library of Medicine titled, “Edward Jenner and the History of Smallpox and Vaccination” was recorded as early as 1122 BC. (Riedel “Smallpox the Origin of a Disease”). Mankind’s triumph over this horrible disease was initiated by an English doctor named Edward Jenner. Through observations and experimentation, Jenner would create a procedure now known as vaccination. (Riedel “Edward Jenner”). During the next two centuries, vaccinations would be used worldwide to stop the spread of small pox. After the successful worldwide vaccination campaign led by the World Health Organization, small pox was eradicated worldwide in 1980. As a result of the eradication of smallpox according

A few centuries ago, smallpox almost eradicated the entire population of Europe. After the vaccine for it was created, it has since prevented about 5 million cases every year. The reason why the vaccine was so effective is that it is a weakened form of the virus. Since the human is unable to tell the difference between a weakened and a fully functional virus, it treats the microbe like any other.