SMALLPOX
By: Garrett Despres, son of a doctor
Well, to start off, what is smallpox??????
Smallpox is a disease caused by a variola virus. The last part of the word, "pox", is Latin for spotted. It is often confused with chicken pox, but smallpox mainly effects your face and lower face. For images, go to the link below
How is smallpox transmitted and what are some symptoms?
There are 2 ways to transmit smallpox person-to-person, which are body fluid transmission and face-to-face contact. Plants and animals can't get the disease as far as we know, but it can be transmitted through human made objects rarely. Some symptoms are a high fever, chills, malaise, headache, back and stomach pain, and vomiting
How is the disease treated?
The only way smallpox can be treated is taking a vaccination (created by Edward Jenner, see video below) beforehand. Take medicine for fever and headache, but just lay low for a while.
OH NO! How can I prevent the disease?
Well, smallpox is barely surviving in the world now, so you probably shouldn't worry about it. But the best thing you can do is get the vaccination and stay away from contact with other people with symptoms or spots.
Interesting facts
The last case of smallpox was in 1977.
A small vial of the disease dated 1954 was found this year
Officialy eriticated (like extinct for diseases) in 1980
The worst decade was the 1950's, with over 15 million cases per year.
Edward Jenner Story