Small Pox

Small Pox

Ä) Who; introduced to Europe by Mary Montagu

B) Where; China and India

C)When; 4th century China, 7th century India

II. History of the disease:

(include recent research and development of cures and treatments.

U.S and Russia will not destroy there cultures of small pox for fear of a bio war. Scientists must decide if they want to destroy the last remaining viles of the small pox virus--amid claims to human achievememt, arrogance

III. Causes: Usually passed between two people through droplets from the nose or mouth which reproduced in the lymphoid tissue.

IV. Symptoms: After about a 12 day period, victims usually developed high fevers, chills, nausea, aches, and a rash that would fill with pus and sometimes swelled severely.

V. Treatments : Most of the victims died, if not scabs formed and eventually fell off leaving scars and perment pits in the flesh. Some victims went blind.

VI. Cure (if curable) There is no specific treatment for small pox

VII. Updated info; The World Health Organization has declared the small pox virus Free.

Hemorrhagic smallpox; about one hour before death. Thick hemorrhage occuring in the mouth and from the lungs. Smallpox virus is extremely contagious in the air

smallpox

also called VARIOLA, one of the world's most dreaded plagues until 1977, when it was declared eradicated. The disease was described as early as 1122 BC in China and is referred to in ancient Sanskrit texts of India. The mummified head of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses V (died c. 1156 BC) bears evidence of the disease.

Smallpox is an acute infectious disease caused by a virus, characterized by fever and, beginning about two days later, an eruption that, after passing through the stages of papule, vesicle, and pustule, dries up, leaving more or less distinct scars. The characteristic eruption may be so profuse as to be confluent, especially on the face, or so scanty that the lesions are missed altogether.

Modifications, both toward fewer lesions and toward their being more superficial, may occur either naturally or because of vaccination that was not recent enough to give complete protection against the disease. With nearly complete vaccinal protection, few lesions will appear; but even if vaccination has been effected many years before, smaller and more superficial lesions are the rule in cases in which an unvaccinated person would have a severe attack. Such superficial lesions are also characteristic of the naturally occurring mild strains of the disease (variola minor).

Besides the characteristic focal eruptions (papule to vesicle to pustule to scab to scar), there is sometimes a toxic eruption during the initial fever, before the appearance of the true smallpox rash.