Black Pox: The Variola Virus

Black Pox is a symptom of smallpox that is caused by bleeding under the skin which makes it look charred or black. this symptom usually indicates that a person with smallpox is going to die. smallpox was an infectious disease caused by one of two virus variants: Variola major or minor. Variola major was the more severe and more common form, it included higher fevers and extensive rashes. Variola minor was the less common form and far more less severe with death rates of only 1 percent. The Variola virus evolved from a rodent virus between 16,000 to 68,000 years ago.