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SMALLPOX

As discussed earlier in this lesson, smallpox has been used as a biological weapon since before the Revolutionary War. This highly lethal disease is caused by Variolamajor  and Variolaminor , two strains of the same virus. Conquistadors brought the disease from Spain to the New World, where it decimated over 90 percent of the continents the indigenous people over the next century.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared smallpox to be eradicated worldwide in the 1980s, and the last naturally occurring case was reported in Somalia in 1977. Two laboratories hold the last known stocks of Variola virus, the CDC in Atlanta and VECTOR in Novizbersk, Russia. However, stocks that are not known about could exist in other parts of the world. If they do exist, smallpox could come into the hands of terrorists and be used as a biological weapon.

Exposure to smallpox is followed by an incubation period of approximately 12 days. Symptoms include fatigue, fever, chills, vomiting, headache, and backache, and about 15 percent of victims experience hallucinations as well. In approximately two to three days, the victim develops a distinctive rash on the face, hands and forearms followed by eruptions on the lower extremities and the trunk of the body. Lesions begin as discolored spots flush with the surface of the skin and then develop into raised spots, and finally inflamed pus- filled blisters on the skin. Within two weeks, scabs form on the skin blisters and leave discolored depressions behind when they fall off. Patients are considered to be highly contagious as long as the scabs are in place.

An outbreak of smallpox caused by a terrorist attack would be a true international emergency. While a vaccination for smallpox does exist, few if any Americans have received the vaccine today because of its eradication, and thus the general population would have little protection against the disease. However, since smallpox is transmitted from person to person, it is not known how the virus would best be

Viral Agents Continued…

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