SMALLPOX

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SMALLPOX

• By Lisa Gessford

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Smallpox

• Smallpox is said to have first appeared over
  3,000 years ago in China and the Far East. It
  has been killing millions ever since. The disease
  spread rapidly throughout the world. It made
  many outbreaks and caused many deaths. In the
  17th and 18th century, smallpox was the most
  serious infectious disease that existed. People
  feared this disease, and those who were infected
  knew that it was only a matter of time before
  they would die.

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Smallpox The Virus

• Smallpox is a disease caused by the virus
  known as variola.
• It is classified as parasitic because it is
  destructive to its host.
• Smallpox is also called a crowd disease
  because it requires a large densely populated
  area in order to survive.

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Transmission

• Smallpox is highly contagious. People were
  infected by coming in contact with the saliva of
  people with smallpox or through direct contact
  with the lesions on the skin.
• People who developed a cough with it, gave those
  around them a high risk of getting the disease.

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Symptoms

• AFTER INCUBATION PERIOD
• fever of 106 degrees
• chills
• backaches
• headaches
• nausea
• FOUR DAYS LATER
• some temporary relief
• rashes appear on face, chest, arms, back, and legs

• NEXT FEW DAYS
• spots change to raised, blister like pustules
• AFTER NINE DAYS
• the postulates split open, dry up, and form
  scabs, which will fall off and leave scars

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ORGANS INVOLVED LENGTH

• The lesions you can see may be uncomfortable, but
  they are not deadly until the lesions get into
  your organs.
• IF THE VIRUS ATTACKS YOUR EYES, LUNGS, THROAT,
  HEART, OR LIVER, IT CAN BE FATAL!!

• When the symptoms start to show up, you will not
  see the lesions on your skin until about a week.
• After the lesions appear, the condition will not
  get better.
• The conditions will only get worse and you will
  eventually die.

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Treatment

• There are no medicines available to treat
  smallpox once lesions begin to develop.
• There is a vaccine available that will ensure
  that you will not get the disease. It is offered
  almost everywhere.

This mother has smallpox, but the child will not
get it because he has luckily been vaccinated.
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Research

• After Edward Jenner discovered the vaccine for
  smallpox, and the disease was officially
  eradicated in 1980, there has been limited
  research on it.
• The main research going on is to find a better
  vaccine for smallpox in case other countries use
  this disease for biological warfare.
  

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Summary

• Smallpox was a very devastating disease, but
  is now no longer a problem. This viral disease
  was officially eradicated in 1980 after the last
  case was diagnosed in Somalia.
• Now there is a very slim chance that you will
  get smallpox. In fact, it is not even
  recommended to get a smallpox vaccine.
• The only known stockpiles of smallpox are in
  limited laboratories where they test the disease.

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CREDITS

• http//www.natmedmuse.afip.org/collections/archive
  s/agalleries/smallpox/smallpox.html
• http//www.rockyview.ab.ca/bpeak/classact/grade8/c
  anada/hkpro2.html
• http//www.niv.ac.za/features/smallpox1.html
• http//falcon.cc.ukans.edu/jbrown/virus.html
• http//www-micro.msb.le.ac.uk/Tutorials/Pox/Pox1.h
  tml
• http//web20.mindlink.net/stolo/firstcon.htmbrit