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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.
The history of smallpox extends into pre-history. [1] Genetic evidence suggests that the smallpox virus emerged 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. [2] Prior to that, similar ancestral viruses circulated, but possibly only in other mammals, and possibly with different symptoms.
Persons infected with smallpox are infectious to others for about 24 days after their infection time. However, there is a period of time in which individuals are contagious but have only begun to experience minor symptoms such as fever, headaches, body aches, nausea, pustules, pox, and sometimes vomiting. [2]
The symptoms of smallpox are rash on the skin and blisters filled with raised liquid. [ 41 ] The disease killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans annually during the 19th century and one-third of all the blindness of that time was caused by smallpox. 20 to 60% of all the people that were infected died and 80% of all the children with the infection ...
One Native tribe majorly affected by the smallpox epidemic was the Mandan tribe. The Mandans traditionally lived along the Missouri River. They had an extraordinarily rich culture, due to them hosting many European and American travelers. The Mandan villages consisted of 12 to 100 lodges and were well organized with a hierarchy of leaders.
Depending on the severity of the pneumonia, the overall health of the patient, and how well they respond to medical treatment, elderly adults might spend anywhere from three to five weeks in a ...
He was transferred to Cardinal Hayes Convalescent Home for Children, a Catholic nursing facility in Millbrook, New York. He subsequently developed a rash and fever. It was later determined that he had smallpox and was the source of infection for three others at the facility, including a 62-year-old nun, a 5-year-old boy, and a 2-year-old girl.
Variolation was the method of inoculation first used to immunize individuals against smallpox (Variola) with material taken from a patient or a recently variolated individual, in the hope that a mild, but protective, infection would result.