Smallpox :: essays research papers

The Scourge of the World Nestled deep in the bowels of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, locked away in a blue and silver freezer lays what remains of humankind’s deadliest enemy. Neatly tucked away in a virology institute in Siberia, guarded twenty-four hours a day, lays it’s counterpart. No, not a man made weapon of mass destruction; just a natural born killer of man. This insatiable killer is known in the scientific community as the Variola Virus. To the layperson, it is called, smallpox. The smallpox virus first presented itself between three thousand and twelve thousand years ago, possibly in Egypt at the time of the Pharaohs (Preston44). There are two types of Variola virus, Variola Major and Variola Minor. Variola Minor is a mutated form of the Variola Major. Variola Minor was first discovered in Jamaica in 1863. Variola Minor is not the strain responsible for millions of deaths: only one percent of the people who contract Variola Minor die from the virus (Preston45). The classic virus, Variola Major is responsible for one in three deaths among the people who contract this form. The Variola virus has had more victims than any other infectious disease including the Black Death, in the Middle Ages (Preston44). Although â€Å"smallpox† was officially declared eradicated, by the World Health Organization, it is still a topic of great concern and controversy to many scientist and governments, and the virus is coveted by many terrorist organizations. The virus spreads through droplet infection, such as sneezing, or through contact with the dried scabs of a victim, or even their clothing. Patients infected with smallpox will often begin to show symptoms within nine to twelve days after exposure. The symptoms present themselves in an almost â€Å"flu† like state. Beginning with a high fever, back aches, chills, and headaches. The next stage of the disease produces a rash on the face, arms, legs, chest and back. In a few days, the rash turns to a blister-like pustule. In the following days, the virus attacks the eyes, lungs, throat, heart, and liver, which lead the patients’ to a painful death. If the infected person is lucky enough to live, through the disease, the victim is left scarred and permanently disfigured. Smallpox has been around for centuries, and spreads with alarming ease. The Spanish brought the disease to Mexico in the 1500’s where nearly three million Indians were infected and died (Buran). Smallpox :: essays research papers The Scourge of the World Nestled deep in the bowels of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, locked away in a blue and silver freezer lays what remains of humankind’s deadliest enemy. Neatly tucked away in a virology institute in Siberia, guarded twenty-four hours a day, lays it’s counterpart. No, not a man made weapon of mass destruction; just a natural born killer of man. This insatiable killer is known in the scientific community as the Variola Virus. To the layperson, it is called, smallpox. The smallpox virus first presented itself between three thousand and twelve thousand years ago, possibly in Egypt at the time of the Pharaohs (Preston44). There are two types of Variola virus, Variola Major and Variola Minor. Variola Minor is a mutated form of the Variola Major. Variola Minor was first discovered in Jamaica in 1863. Variola Minor is not the strain responsible for millions of deaths: only one percent of the people who contract Variola Minor die from the virus (Preston45). The classic virus, Variola Major is responsible for one in three deaths among the people who contract this form. The Variola virus has had more victims than any other infectious disease including the Black Death, in the Middle Ages (Preston44). Although â€Å"smallpox† was officially declared eradicated, by the World Health Organization, it is still a topic of great concern and controversy to many scientist and governments, and the virus is coveted by many terrorist organizations. The virus spreads through droplet infection, such as sneezing, or through contact with the dried scabs of a victim, or even their clothing. Patients infected with smallpox will often begin to show symptoms within nine to twelve days after exposure. The symptoms present themselves in an almost â€Å"flu† like state. Beginning with a high fever, back aches, chills, and headaches. The next stage of the disease produces a rash on the face, arms, legs, chest and back. In a few days, the rash turns to a blister-like pustule. In the following days, the virus attacks the eyes, lungs, throat, heart, and liver, which lead the patients’ to a painful death. If the infected person is lucky enough to live, through the disease, the victim is left scarred and permanently disfigured. Smallpox has been around for centuries, and spreads with alarming ease. The Spanish brought the disease to Mexico in the 1500’s where nearly three million Indians were infected and died (Buran).