File:Child_with_Smallpox_Bangladesh.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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smallpox

Also known as Red Plague, pox, speckled monster

Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. 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, making smallpox the only human disease to have been eradicated.

AI overview

Smallpox was a serious infectious disease caused by the Variola virus that once spread among humans but was eliminated through global vaccination efforts. It holds historic significance as the only human disease that has been completely eradicated worldwide, with the last natural case occurring in 1977 and eradication officially certified by the WHO in 1980.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Medical condition.synonyms: variola, variola vera, pox, red plague
Medical condition.image: Child with Smallpox Bangladesh.jpg
Medical condition.caption: A child with smallpox in Bangladesh in 1973. The bumps filled with thick fluid and a depression or dimple in the center are characteristic.
Medical condition.field: Infectious disease
Medical condition.complications: Scarring of the skin, blindness
Medical condition.onset: 1 to 3 weeks following exposure
Medical condition.duration: About 4 weeks
Medical condition.causes: variola major virus, variola minor virus (spread between people)
Medical condition.diagnosis: Based on symptoms and confirmed by PCR
Medical condition.differential: Chickenpox, impetigo, molluscum contagiosum, mpox
Medical condition.prevention: Smallpox vaccine
Medical condition.treatment: Supportive care
Medical condition.medication: Brincidofovir
Medical condition.prognosis: 30% risk of death
Medical condition.frequency: Eradicated (last naturally occurring case in 1977)

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

12,781 papers

Smallpox in the Post-Eradication Era.ReviewViruses · 2020Meyer H, Ehmann R, Smith GLDOI: 10.3390/v12020138
Smallpox, Monkeypox and Other Human Orthopoxvirus Infections.ReviewViruses · 2022Shchelkunova GA, Shchelkunov SNDOI: 10.3390/v15010103
Smallpox.JAMA · 2022DOI: 10.1001/jama.2021.17055
Smallpox and monkeypox: Looking back and looking ahead.ReviewCleveland Clinic journal of medicine · 2023Sossai P, Staiti D, Cannas M et al.DOI: 10.3949/ccjm.90a.22067
Treatment and Vaccination for Smallpox and Monkeypox.ReviewAdvances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Saalbach KPDOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-57165-7_19
[Smallpox].ReviewNederlands tijdschrift voor tandheelkunde · 2003Bol P
[We should be prepared to smallpox re-emergence.].ReviewVoprosy virusologii · 2019Shchelkunov SN, Shchelkunova GADOI: 10.36233/0507-4088-2019-64-5-206-214
The rediscovery of smallpox.ReviewClinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2014Thèves C, Biagini P, Crubézy EDOI: 10.1111/1469-0691.12536

via PubMed

Described at

天花 - 衛生福利部疾病管制署

cdc.gov.tw →

Link to a page describing this subject · 4,340 chars · not written by Vinony

Wikidata facts

Image: Child with Smallpox Bangladesh.jpg

Show 11 more facts

Commons category: Smallpox
NCI Thesaurus ID: C35027
ICPC 2 ID: A76
minimal incubation period in humans: 10
maximal incubation period in humans: 12
ICD-9-CM: 050
WordLift URL: data.medicalrecords.com/medicalrecords/healthwise/smallpox
dissolved, abolished or demolished date: 1978-00-00
exact match: identifiers.org/doid/DOID:8736
described at URL: www.cdc.gov.tw/Disease/SubIndex/r-efSTx60KilIEf_MlwknA
P8168: associative array

Sources (10)

via Wikidata · CC0

~80 min read

Article

39 sections

Contents

Classification
Signs and symptoms
Ordinary
Confluent
Modified
Malignant
Hemorrhagic
Early
Late
Cause
Evolution
Virology
Variola major
Variola minor
Genome composition
Gene expression
Research
Genetic engineering
Controversies
Transmission
Mechanism
Diagnosis
Prevention
Treatment
Prognosis
Complications
History
Disease emergence
Eradication
Costs and benefits
Since eradication
Society and culture
Biological warfare
Notable cases
Tradition and religion
See also
References
Further reading
External links

The initial symptoms of the disease included fever and vomiting. This was followed by formation of ulcers in the mouth and a skin rash. Over a number of days, the skin rash turned into the characteristic fluid-filled blisters with a dent in the center. The bumps then scabbed over and fell off, leaving scars. The disease was transmitted from one person to another primarily through prolonged face-to-face contact with an infected person or rarely via contaminated objects. Prevention was achieved mainly through the smallpox vaccine. Once the disease had developed, certain antiviral medications could have helped, but such medications did not become available until after the disease was eradicated. The risk of death was about 30%, with higher rates among babies. Often, those who survived had extensive scarring of their skin, and some were left blind.