Small Pox

Small Pox By Akshay Garapati

For centuries smallpox was known as the deadliest plague in the world. 30% of people infected with smallpox died. Even if you were lucky enough to survive you might be severely disabled for the rest of your life.

This disease comes from cowpox. Scientist believed that cowpox (variola minor) evolved around the 17th century to smallpox (variola major).

When Spanish Explorers brought smallpox to the americas It killed millions of people from canadA down to Chile.

For the first 1-2 weeks there was no signs of the disease. Then the victim would have a fever, a headache, back pain, and sometimes even abdominal pain and vomiting. 2-5 days later those symptoms abated, but then a rash of poxes that was heavy on the face and lower limbs appeared. If you popped them the virus would keep on spreading. In the falling days scabs formed on the poxes. 2-3 weeks later they would fall off.

The virus would multiply in lymph nodes, spleen, and bone marrow. They then used the white blood cells to get to the skin surface.

This disease impacted the population of America even before the Europeans came to the "U.S." smallpox was already killing many people. Some think it killed 80 million between the 15th and 16th centuries.

Smallpox also took a big role in warfare. Once the British even used blankets infected with smallpox to infect and kill many Native Americans. This helped the British win many wars because the natives had no natural protection.

Smallpox had one of the first vaccines. A English man named Edward Jenner made it in the 1790's. He observed that when milk maids were infected with cowpox they were immune to smallpox. He developed a protection to one of the deadliest diseases.

This was then followed by the success of a rabies vaccination in 1885. This helped the Europeans because the vaccines were easily accessible.

Smallpox no longer exists. The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that the disease was fully eradicated in 1980. The virus is only kept in labs in the United States and Russia. Even if smallpox does get reintroduced it will not harm humans

Sources Used:

Kessel, William B., and Robert Wooster. “Effects of Smallpox.” Encyclopedia of Native American Wars and Warfare, Facts On File, 2005. American Indian History, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/190044?q=Effects of Smallpox. Accessed 2017.

"Smallpox." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 4 Oct. 2007. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/smallpox/68247#. Accessed 21 Apr. 2017.

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Small Pox By Akshay Garapati

When Spanish Explorers brought smallpox to the americas It killed millions of people from canadA down to Chile.

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