Smallpox Essay Example for Code Orange
Smallpox
Although I learned some facts on different infectious diseases in Code Orange, I learned a lot about smallpox. Smallpox is a severe and contagious disease that causes a type of rash on the skin. It is fatal and no longer exists because of vaccines. It’s also known as Variola Major, or VM. At one time, it covered the globe! In Europe, 400,000 people a year used to die from VM. Smallpox probably came from Europe when Christopher Columbus came over and it spread from person to person.
Variola Major can be spread in many ways. For example, it travels in small drops from coughing or breathing. Also it can be spread by contact of the hands of someone who has smallpox. But, the infected person isn’t contagious for 12-14 days after being infected. The person doesn’t even feel sick for the same amount of time, so there’s no way to know if you have it until about 2 weeks pass by.
When you have VM, or smallpox, you have the following symptoms: high temperature, chills, rigor, terrible migraines, awful backaches, pain of the arms and legs, coughing, and, of course, the horrible rash. The rash begins as small, brown dots that are called macules. The, the spots raised. These are called papules. After three or four days, they became blisters, which are known as pustules that are hard, round, and bead-like. They are under the skin. The victim’s whole body is covered in them, mostly on the hands, face, and feet. After a numerous amount of days, they pop open and bleed and scab. It takes six days for one to dry, and it takes 2-3 weeks for them all to dry up. When the scabs fall off, they leave pocks.
There aren’t many cures for Variola Major. But, if a smallpox vaccine is given within 1-4 days after an infected person is exposed to smallpox, it may prevent sickness or make it less brutal. After the symptoms begin, there isn’t much that can be done. Sometimes, medicine can be given for infections that happen to people who have VM. A man named Donald Henderson came up
Although I learned some facts on different infectious diseases in Code Orange, I learned a lot about smallpox. Smallpox is a severe and contagious disease that causes a type of rash on the skin. It is fatal and no longer exists because of vaccines. It’s also known as Variola Major, or VM. At one time, it covered the globe! In Europe, 400,000 people a year used to die from VM. Smallpox probably came from Europe when Christopher Columbus came over and it spread from person to person.
Variola Major can be spread in many ways. For example, it travels in small drops from coughing or breathing. Also it can be spread by contact of the hands of someone who has smallpox. But, the infected person isn’t contagious for 12-14 days after being infected. The person doesn’t even feel sick for the same amount of time, so there’s no way to know if you have it until about 2 weeks pass by.
When you have VM, or smallpox, you have the following symptoms: high temperature, chills, rigor, terrible migraines, awful backaches, pain of the arms and legs, coughing, and, of course, the horrible rash. The rash begins as small, brown dots that are called macules. The, the spots raised. These are called papules. After three or four days, they became blisters, which are known as pustules that are hard, round, and bead-like. They are under the skin. The victim’s whole body is covered in them, mostly on the hands, face, and feet. After a numerous amount of days, they pop open and bleed and scab. It takes six days for one to dry, and it takes 2-3 weeks for them all to dry up. When the scabs fall off, they leave pocks.
There aren’t many cures for Variola Major. But, if a smallpox vaccine is given within 1-4 days after an infected person is exposed to smallpox, it may prevent sickness or make it less brutal. After the symptoms begin, there isn’t much that can be done. Sometimes, medicine can be given for infections that happen to people who have VM. A man named Donald Henderson came up