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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.
Diseases associated with this genus include smallpox, cowpox, horsepox, camelpox, and mpox. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The most widely known member of the genus is Variola virus , which causes smallpox. It was eradicated globally by 1977, through the use of Vaccinia virus as a vaccine .
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.
Smallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor, with the latter typically producing a milder disease. [1] The World Health Organization (WHO) had established a smallpox eradication programme and, by 1978, was close to declaring that the disease had been eradicated ...
According to the Center for Disease Control, the rate for post-vaccination encephalitis following the smallpox vaccine is 3 to 12 per million, and the fatality rate is about 1 in a million. [16] (Since this was the largest vaccination campaign ever, it is likely to have contributed substantially to the C.D.C.'s data and estimates.)
The name of the family, Poxviridae, is a legacy of the original grouping of viruses associated with diseases that produced poxes on the skin.Modern viral classification is based on phenotypic characteristics; morphology, nucleic acid type, mode of replication, host organisms, and the type of disease they cause.
The Centers for Disease Control reports that there have been more than 22,400 cases across 79 countries around the world. Almost 99% of monkeypox cases from the current outbreak have been reported ...
Smallpox is a highly contagious viral disease which can be transmitted through direct contact with a person that is already affected with smallpox. Touching clothing, bedding, dust, or any other objects that were previously touched by an infected person can result in transmission of the disease. [ 5 ]