Home » Health & Wellness » Public Health Issues » What Exactly Is Smallpox?

What Exactly Is Smallpox?

© Adelle Vancil Tilton

Even though the fear of smallpox is evident in the United States, due to the recent attacks on America and the subsequent anthrax infections, threats and deaths, most people really do not have an understanding of what smallpox is. It is known widely to be the most frightening of the potential biological warfare diseases but as long as it remains just a word without any definition behind it, the fear is apt to be more disabling than the possibility of actual infection. Whether or not United States citizens will ever face smallpox remains to be seen, but we have faced anthrax and as always, knowledge is power.

Smallpox is a variety of the variola virus. Being a virus it does not require direct contact to the infective agent as anthrax does. It is communicable from one person to another. In that regard, it is a more effective weapon as the virus does much of the work itself, rather than depending on directly interacting with the victim. The time of incubation varies, ranging from one to two weeks. Once infected the victim of smallpox begins exhibiting symptoms that are not unlike the flu: a high fever, malaise, and body aches. One clue that it might be smallpox rather than an influenza is severe head and back pain as well as possible severe abdominal pain. After two or three days, the distinctive symptoms of smallpox show themselves and the characteristic rash appears. The rash usually begins on the face and inside the mouth, then appears on the arms, eventually progressing to the trunk and legs. The rash begins as red lesions that are flat. They become pus-filled and crusty in the second week. The lesions then detach from the skin in about three to four weeks and fall off. These lesions are deep into the layers of the skin and leave pigment free areas and deep pitting scars. The survival rate at this time for those infected is about 70%.

Being that smallpox is a virus and not a bacteria treatment is limited. The viral medications on the market today are not proving in experimentation to be effective against this strain of variola. Supportive care for symptoms is the primary method of care and antibiotics are given to prevent secondary bacterial infections.

Smallpox is an airborne virus and therefore would be easily spread. About 30% of the people exposed to it will catch it, according to some studies which I was unable to verify. It can be spread not only from person to person, but through blankets, clothing and other items used by an infected person. With no real treatment available and a fatality rate of 30%, this does make smallpox potentially the most deadly of the biological weapons.

The copyright of the article What Exactly Is Smallpox? in Public Health Issues is owned by Adelle Vancil Tilton. Permission to republish What Exactly Is Smallpox? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.