Smallpox, which has caused significant losses and epidemics in human history, is a type of viral infection. The last smallpox outbreak was in 1946 and there has been no outbreak since then. After the introduction of the smallpox vaccine, no one has contracted the disease naturally since 1977. Although smallpox and chickenpox are often confused with each other due to the similarity of their names, they are different diseases. The only point where both diseases are similar is that they cause skin rashes. However, the symptoms of smallpox are much more severe.
What is Smallpox?
Smallpox, one of the most deadly epidemics in history, is caused by the variola virus. Variola virus is divided into major and minor. Patients with smallpox caused by the variola major virus have much more severe symptoms and up to 30% of patients die. People infected with the variola minor virus have much milder symptoms and a mortality rate of 1%.
Smallpox, which has historically caused high mortality rates, was also the first disease to be vaccinated against. For this reason, smallpox was an important step for modern medicine and a breakthrough for the protection of public health.
Smallpox Symptoms
The symptoms of smallpox, a serious infectious disease, manifest themselves at different stages. The progression of the disease can be monitored as each stage of the disease has its own symptoms.
The incubation phase, which can last up to 19 days from the time the virus is first transmitted, is the incubation phase and does not show any symptoms. There is no disease transmission at this stage. After the end of the incubation phase, patients experience the following symptoms.
- Fatigue,
- Nausea,
- Vomiting,
- Don’t catch cold,,
- Tremors,
- Headache
- Body aches
- High fever
At the stage of the first symptoms, the disease is minimally contagious. The most contagious stage of the disease is after the first stage. Symptoms seen in the second stage include the following.
- Early rashes,
- Red spots on the surface of the tongue and inside the mouth,
- The spots in the mouth progress to the throat over time and turn into sores,
- Wounds and rashes spread to the face, legs, hands, arms and feet,
About 4 days after the first symptoms appear, the wounds on the skin turn into inflamed blisters. In this process, symptoms are accompanied by high fever.
For 10 days after this process, the wounds turn into pea-sized lumps under the skin and take on a pustular appearance.
The last stage is the healing stage. During the healing phase, the wounds begin to crust and then the crusts fall off.
How is smallpox transmitted?
Before the smallpox vaccine, the disease was easily transmitted in crowded environments and within the family. Among the transmission routes of smallpox, which is transmitted by droplet in its first stage, are the following.
- Sneezing,
- Do not cough,
- Speech,
- Respiration,
The smallpox virus is transmitted through the respiratory tract in the initial period, and in the early rash stage, the scabs of the wounds become infectious. Therefore, being in contact with infected people or touching places touched by infected people is enough to transmit the disease. There is no evidence that smallpox is transmitted by pets or insects. The disease is therefore thought to be transmitted from person to person.
Smallpox vaccine is a vaccine that is administered during serious epidemics. However, it has now been removed from official vaccination schedules as no cases have been reported.
Treatment of Smallpox
Smallpox can be diagnosed in the early rash stage. Since the rash has a more specific appearance than measles or chickenpox, it can be easily diagnosed by physicians.
Smallpox Vaccine
The smallpox vaccine is used to prevent smallpox and is also used to treat the disease. The smallpox vaccine administered to infected patients can help them to have milder symptoms.
If the vaccine is administered within the first 3 days of exposure to the disease, the development of the disease is significantly prevented and people are not infected. However, if the vaccine is administered within 4 to 7 days after exposure to the disease, then the vaccine only helps to alleviate the symptoms of the disease. However, if rashes have already developed, the vaccine is of no help. It is therefore extremely important to know when patients become infected and to vaccinate them immediately.
Antiviral Drugs
There is only one antiviral medicine used to treat smallpox. This FDA-approved medicine is also used to counteract the side effects of the smallpox vaccine.
Supportive Treatments
In the treatment of smallpox, anti-inflammatory drugs are used to relieve pain. In addition, it is extremely important that patients are fed in a healthy way during this process. In addition, supplements such as vitamin C and D should be taken to support the immune system.
In addition, because the symptoms of smallpox are similar to those of other infectious diseases and because smallpox is a contagious disease, people with symptoms should be isolated as soon as possible.
