The History of Smallpox and Its Erradication

Smallpox

Back in the ancient’s time during the pre-historic era as far as 1000 AD this disease was not very much known to people but have said to be found on an Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses V mummy who died in 1157BC (Henderson, Fenner, Arita, Ladnyi, 1988 p 209-210). There was evidence of pustule eruption and rash that have been seen on the mummy similar to the description of a variola virus. Part of the idea of where this disease came from is unknown and where the origin of this disease is very much not clear. This disease that is known to be contagious and deadly at times is called smallpox. The early civilization had believed smallpox was originated from Africa and soon had spread though out the world like China and India (Fenn, 2003).

Smallpox is a serious and sometimes fatal disease that is cause by a Variola virus, a member of the orthopox virus family, the variola virus also known as the variola major is the most common severe clinical form of smallpox that is known to give an extensive rash and high fever. The forms of this disease consist of 30 % fatality rate (CDC, 2003: smallpox). There are known to be four types of variola major of small pox, from the very common one to the fatal. These four types are ordinary, which is the very common one and create a discrete rash, modified (mild) and sometimes can be confused with chickenpox, Flat and Hemorrhagic which is rare and very severe to the human population which cause internal bleeding in the skin, unlike the other types of variola major, this type tend to make people have a smooth skin and mainly happens to adult. Another clinical form of smallpox is variola minor, less common and less severe with only 1% of historical death (CDC, 2003: smallpox). The word pox in smallpox...

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...in tact by the 1900 34% of all children had been vaccinated. Britain soon discontinued the idea of the vaccination because there became less people who got infected with smallpox. It was a difficult process to take on the various act of vaccination because the increase of health measure to help control smallpox. By the 20th century a milder smallpox, called variola minor had enter in Britain but only causing about 1% of deaths. In 1973 there was said to be an out break from the laboratory killing two people. Soon the World Health Organization mount a campaign in 1967 when there was about 10-15 million cases yearly and to eradicate smallpox globally (Baxby, 1999). Smallpox was a way to be eliminated from the world and people who have been vaccinated and immune to the disease. The strategy to this method had eradicated smallpox causing the disease to be kept away.