User:Mr. Ibrahem/Smallpox
eradicated viral disease / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Mr. Ibrahem/Smallpox | |
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Other names | Variola,[1] variola vera,[2] pox,[3] red plague[4] |
A child with smallpox in Bangladesh in 1973. The bumps filled with thick fluid and a depression or dimple in the center are characteristic. | |
Specialty | Infectious disease |
Symptoms | |
Complications | Scarring of the skin, blindness[6] |
Usual onset | 1 to 3 weeks following exposure[5] |
Duration | About 4 weeks[5] |
Causes | Variola major, Variola minor (spread between people)[6][7] |
Diagnostic method | Based on symptoms and confirmed by PCR[8] |
Differential diagnosis | Chickenpox, impetigo, molluscum contagiosum, monkeypox[8] |
Prevention | Smallpox vaccine[9] |
Treatment | Supportive care[10] |
Medication | Tecovirimat, brincidofovir, cidofovir[9] |
Prognosis | 30% risk of death[5] |
Frequency | Eradicated (last wild case in 1977) |
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by one of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor.[7] The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) certified the global eradication of the disease in 1980.[10] The risk of death following contracting the disease was about 30%, with higher rates among babies.[6][11] Often those who survived had extensive scarring of their skin, and some were left blind.[6]
The initial symptoms of the disease included fever and vomiting.[5] This was followed by formation of sores in the mouth and a skin rash.[5] Over a number of days the skin rash turned into characteristic fluid-filled bumps with a dent in the center.[5] The bumps then scabbed over and fell off, leaving scars.[5] The disease was spread between people or via contaminated objects.[6][12] Prevention was primarily by the smallpox vaccine.[9] Once the disease had developed, certain antiviral medication may have helped.[9]
The origin of smallpox is unknown.[13] The earliest evidence of the disease dates to the 3rd century BCE in Egyptian mummies.[13] The disease historically occurred in outbreaks.[10] In 18th-century Europe, it is estimated 400,000 people per year died from the disease, and one-third of the cases resulted in blindness.[10][14] These deaths included six monarchs.[10][14] Smallpox is estimated to have killed up to 300 million people in the 20th century[15][16] and around 500 million people in the last 100 years of its existence.[17] As recently as 1967, 15 million cases occurred a year.[10]
Inoculation for smallpox appears to have started in China around the 1500s.[18][19] Europe adopted this practice from Asia in the first half of the 18th century.[20] In 1796 Edward Jenner introduced the modern smallpox vaccine.[21][22] In 1967, the WHO intensified efforts to eliminate the disease.[10] Smallpox is one of two infectious diseases to have been eradicated, the other being rinderpest in 2011.[23][24] The term "smallpox" was first used in Britain in the early 16th century to distinguish the disease from syphilis, which was then known as the "great pox".[25][26] Other historical names for the disease include pox, speckled monster, and red plague.[3][4][26]