Abstract
Smallpox, otherwise known as variola, was first described in ancient Chinese texts dating from the eleventh century B.C. The Chinese were the first to discover that purposeful inoculation of lesional material into the nose of the uninfected was preventative of disease in the sixth century B.C. Although the disease was officially eradicated in 1979, known stocks of the material have been maintained in biolabs located in Russia and the United States, where they pose a potential source of public health concern if subverted as biowarfare agents. Smallpox belongs to the poxvirus group of double-stranded DNA-containing viruses that includes vaccinia, molluscum contagiosum, and cowpox. The poxviruses are among the largest of all human viruses, attaining a maximum diameter of 300 nm, and possess characteristic rectangular or cylindrical outer capsids and a central DNA core.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Breman J, Arita I. The confirmation and maintenance of smallpox eradication. N Engl J Med. 1980;303:1263.
Breman J, Henderson D. Poxvirus dilemmas: monkeypox, smallpox, and biologic terrorism. N Engl J Med. 1998;303:556.
Albert M, Ostheimer K, Breman J. The last smallpox epidemic in Boston and the vaccination controversy, 1901–1903. N Engl J Med. 2001;344:375.
Wehrle P. A reality in our time: certification of the global eradication of smallpox. J Infect Dis. 1980;242:636.
Fenner F. Global eradication of smallpox. Rev Infect Dis. 1982;4:916.
Henderson D. Smallpox. Clinical and epidemiologic features. Emerg Infect Dis. 1999;5:537.
Downie AW, St. Vincent L, Meiklejohn G, Ratnakannan NR, Rao AR, Krishnan GNV, Kempe CH. Studies virus content of mouth washings in the acute phase of smallpox. Bull World Health Organ. 1961;25:49.
Michelson H, Ikeda K. Microscopic changes in variola. Arch Dermatol Syph. 1927;15:138.
Greenberg M. Complications of vaccination against smallpox. Am J Dis Child. 1948;76:492.
Hammarlund E, Lewis MW, Hansen SG, Strelow LI, Nelson JA, Sexton GJ, Hanifin JM, Slifka MK. Duration of antiviral immunity after smallpox vaccination. Nat Med. 2003;9:1131.
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Assessment of Future Scientific Needs for Live Variola Virus. Assessment of future scientific needs for live variola virus. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US); 1999. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK230919/.
Sarkany I, Caron G. Cutaneous complications of smallpox vaccination. Trans St Johns Hosp Dermatol Soc. 1962;48:163.
Lane J, et al. Complications of smallpox vaccination, 1968: national surveillance in the United States. N Engl J Med. 1968;281:1201.
CDC. Smallpox vaccine adverse events among civilians United States, March 2003. MMWR. 2003; 52:201.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Vesely, N., Castillo, B., Morgan, M.B. (2016). Smallpox. In: Crowe, D., Morgan, M., Somach, S., Trapp, K. (eds) Deadly Dermatologic Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31566-9_32
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31566-9_32
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31564-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31566-9
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)