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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.
Antibiotic drugs did not appear until the middle of the 20th century. Sulfonamides did not appear until 1935, and penicillin, discovered in 1928, was not able to be purified in large quantities until 1940 and was first used to treat a patient in 1941. [9] A big response and potential cure to these epidemics were better sanitation in the cities.
Smallpox was a dangerous disease caused by the variola major virus. The most common type of smallpox, ordinary, historically has devastated populations with a 30% death rate. The smallpox virus is transmittable through bodily fluids and materials contaminated with infected materials.
Shortly after, three Arikara women joined the ship on their trip back to the Mandan community. Although the women showed signs of infection, they were allowed to return to their village, and subsequently spread the disease to their community. [14] The disease was of the most virulent, malignant hemorrhagic form. [4]
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.
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 ...
A particularly virulent sequence of smallpox outbreaks took place in Boston, Massachusetts. most severe epidemic occurred. The entire population fled the city, bringing the virus to the rest of the Thirteen Colonies. [18] Colonists tried to prevent the spread of smallpox by isolation and inoculation. Inoculation caused a mild form of the ...