Preview

Smallpox

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
424 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Smallpox
SmallPox

Smallpox is a disease caused by a poxvirus that is transmitted from person to person that causes high fever, characteristic rash, and may kill about one-third of those infected. Smallpox is the only disease that has been completely wiped out throughout the world. Smallpox is also potentially one of the most devastating biological weapons ever conceived. Smallpox usually requires fairly prolonged face-to-face contact to spread. It's most often transmitted through the air by droplets that escape when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. In rare instances, airborne virus may spread farther, possibly through the ventilation system in a building, infecting people in other rooms or on other floors. Smallpox can also spread through contact with contaminated clothing and bedding, although the risk of infection from these sources is slight. The first symptoms of smallpox usually appear 12 to 14 days after you're infected. During the incubation period of seven to 17 days, you look and feel healthy and can't infect others.
Following the incubation period, a sudden onset of flu-like signs and symptoms occurs. These include: * Fever * Overall discomfort * Headache * Severe fatigue * Severe back pain * Sometimes vomiting, diarrhea or both
A few days later, flat, red spots appear first on your face, hands and forearms, and later on your trunk. Within a day or two, many of these lesions turn into small blisters filled with clear fluid, which then turns into pus. Scabs begin to form eight to nine days later and eventually fall off, leaving deep, pitted scars. The rash is usually most noticeable on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. Lesions also develop in the mucous membranes of your nose and mouth and quickly turn into sores that break open, spreading the virus into your saliva.
When smallpox was common, an experienced clinician could make the diagnosis simply by looking at the rash and examining the patient. Any

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    HSA 535

    • 1777 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In addition to the above symptoms, young children may also have symptoms of diarrhea and or vomiting. Adults may also have similar symptoms but it is crucial not to confuse it with the stomach virus. Many people who have the flu are generally bet within two weeks or less however in rare instances complications like pneumonia can occur. Though it is rare, serous complication that stem from the flu cause death.…

    • 1777 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chain of Infection

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Incubation periods are often lengthy (4-8 weeks). Symptoms include extreme fatigue, sore throat, high fever, weight loss, and often pharyngeal inflammation. Symptoms usually persist for 2-3 weeks, occasionally even longer. Fatigue symptoms often persist even longer. Infections are often likely to be permanent,…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A person exposed to Fifth Disease will experience their first symptoms between 4 and 20 days after exposure to the virus.…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    After a symptom-free incubation period that ranges from 10 days to a year or longer (the average is 30 to 50 days), the patient complains of malaise, loss of appetite, fatigue, headache, and fever. Over half of all patients have pain (sometimes itching) or numbness at the site of exposure. They may complain of insomnia or depression.…

    • 1942 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The symptoms in the beginning of being infected are not noticeable, more symptoms are brought to mind the longer…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anthrax

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There are four different types of anthrax, and each have different signs and symptoms. In most cases, symptoms appear within one week of exposure to the bacteria. However inhalation anthrax is an exception; it may take several weeks for symptoms to appear after exposure. Inhalation…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    that it does not cause disease. In this case, the person would be infected, but…

    • 1452 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Indiana Jones Views on God

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages

    There are millions of diseases in the world, caused by several different types of immune system attacks. Viruses, parasites, funguses, bacterias, and genetics are just a few of many types of diseases. Anthrax is a disease that is based on bacteria. The disease is deadly and very rare. Anthrax seems to be a disease that is ominous but right at the edge of our society. Having knowledge of anthrax is important including: occurences, forms, and infection.…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aids

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Most people do not have any distinct symptoms early on. Two months after the first exposure to the virus infected people experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, depression and expanded lymph nodes. However, these symptoms vanish after a month or so causing people to usually think that it is just another viral infection.…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Variola

    • 1814 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The smallpox epidemic affected the economy, politics, and society of the thirteen English colonies in the eighteen-century. Smallpox also known as variola virus had a course of about one month leading to death or immunity and with strong remembrance of the pain. This highly contagious virus was transmitted through body fluids when in contact with an infected victim, and also through the clothing and the dried scabs of an infected person. The symptoms of an infected person showed after the eleventh day. These symptoms involved fever, headaches, backache, nausea, and malaise. Between the twelfth day through sixteenth day, the symptoms got worse, leading to macules, papules, vesicles and pustules. If during the tenth through the sixteenth day death didn’t occur, it was a sign of survival. During the twenty-fifth day scabs came in and the person was left with numerous scars, and some were blinded but had acquired immunity to smallpox for a lifetime. This epidemic did not discriminate peoples age, sex, race, religion, nor did it have any respect for social status, pregnancy or nutritional status - it affected everyone. This effect is described in the scholarly book of Elizabeth Fenn. The help control the spread of smallpox people used inoculation and quarantine. Two journal articles I have used are Henry R.Viets, "Some Features of the History of Medicine in Massachusetts during the Colonial Period (1620-1770)” and Cynthia, Scheider P., and Michael D. McDonald, “The King of terrors”. The primary source I have used is from William Quentin Maxwell, “A True state of the Small pox in Williamsburg.” In this paper, I will examine how smallpox changed the science in medicine as well as how it affected the society, economy and politics.…

    • 1814 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    His 121 Study Guide 1

    • 2105 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Smallpox: A disease that devastated the Aztec society and many others; A highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever and weakness and skin eruption with pustules that form scabs that slough off leaving scars.…

    • 2105 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dengue

    • 431 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Dengue is characterized in outbreaks. Outbreak means food borne illness that spreads widely in an area.…

    • 431 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Before developing a rash, there may be some mild flu like symptoms. The rash normally appears behind the ears, on the face, scalp, under arms, on chest and stomach, and arms and legs. The rash starts as small itchy, red spots. After approximately 12 to 14 hours these spots develop into fluid filled blisters, which are immensely itchy.…

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Case Study Dengue

    • 3367 Words
    • 14 Pages

    >febrile or invasive stage --- starts abruptly as high fever, abdominal pain and headache; later flushing which may be accompanied by vomiting, conjunctival infection and epistaxis.…

    • 3367 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Foodborne Illness Paper

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As like any other illness, the symptoms vary depending on the person. However, the most common are diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and stomach pain. One can also develop a headache, body ache, and a fever. These symptoms usually show within 24 to 48 hours after infection. The duration of the disease is usually one to three days, unless it is a severe case where the person is hospitalized. In this instance, the duration of disease is approximately four to six days.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays