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Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. [7] [11] 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] making smallpox the only human disease to have been eradicated to date.
Smallpox is the first disease, and so far the only infectious disease of humans, to be eradicated by deliberate intervention. [6] It became the first disease for which there was an effective vaccine in 1798 when Edward Jenner showed the protective effect of inoculation (vaccination) of humans with material from cowpox lesions. [10]
The smallpox vaccine is used to prevent smallpox infection caused by the variola virus. [10] It is the first vaccine to have been developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with the relatively mild cowpox virus conferred immunity against the deadly smallpox virus.
The FDA approved a drug that could be used to treat smallpox, a disease that was officially eradicated in 1980 -- but that doesn't mean it's gone for good.
Tecovirimat, sold under the brand name Tpoxx among others, [6] is an antiviral medication with activity against orthopoxviruses such as smallpox and mpox. [4] [7] [8] In 2018 it was the first antipoxviral drug approved in the United States.
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by two strains of virus, Variola major and V. minor. V. minor was the rarer of the two strains, and causes a much less severe disease (sometimes called alastrim), with a fatality rate of around 1%. No treatment is available, and the only protection is vaccination. The virus is usually transmitted by ...
The virus was normally spread through the air, infecting first the mouth, nose, or respiratory tract, before spreading throughout the body via the lymphatic system. In contrast, infection of the skin usually led to a milder, localized infection, but, crucially, still induced immunity to the virus.
Both Jynneos and ACAM2000 contain vaccinia virus that is closely related to, but less harmful than the viruses that cause smallpox and mpox. ACAM2000 uses a live, infectious form of the vaccinia ...