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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 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 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.
The words come from various (spotted) or varus (pimple). In England, this disease was first known as the "pox" or the "red plague". Smallpox settles itself in small blood vessels of the skin and in the mouth and throat. The symptoms of smallpox are rash on the skin and blisters filled with raised liquid. [41]
Most of the confusion here stems from the fact that the virus inside smallpox vaccines isn’t found in nature. Vaccinia virus seems to only exist in laboratories, not in any biological hosts.
1796 – First demonstration of smallpox vaccination (Edward Jenner) 1808–1813 – First experimental demonstration of the germ theory of disease by Agostino Bassi though he does not formally propose the theory until 1844; 1813 – Vautier reports spontaneous remission of cancer after gangrene infection (later to be known as Clostridium ...
According to the CDC, monkeypox is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox. Both the CDC and the WHO have published data showing that the smallpox vaccine is 85% effective in preventing ...
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.