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This fact sheet is
available in:
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 PDF files require a free reader. Download
a reader. This document was produced in cooperation with the Emergency
Management Division of the Washington State Military Department.
Smallpox
What is smallpox?
- Smallpox is a severe viral
infection caused by the variola virus. Smallpox infection was eliminated
from the world in the late 1970s.
However, because the security of the virus is uncertain, there is a
remote risk that smallpox could be used as a weapon.
Routine
vaccination against smallpox in the United States ended in 1972, because
the risk associated with the vaccine was greater than the risk of
getting the disease. However, in 2003, some members of the military,
public health and healthcare workforce were vaccinated against smallpox
as part of bioterrorism preparedness.
How is smallpox spread? What are the
symptoms?
- Smallpox is extremely infectious
and is spread from one person to another by infected saliva droplets.
Exposure may come from face-to-face contact, airborne spread (coughing
or sneezing), or through direct contact with contaminated materials.
People with smallpox are most infectious during the first week of
illness because that is when the largest amount of virus is present in
saliva. However, some risk of transmission lasts until all scabs have
fallen off.
The incubation period for the
disease ranges from about seven to 17 days following exposure. Initial
symptoms include high fever, fatigue, headache, and backache. A
rash--most prominent on the face, arms and legs--follows
in two to three days. The rash starts with flat red lesions that evolve
at the same rate. Lesions become pus-filled and begin to crust early in
the second week. Scabs develop, and then separate and fall off after
about three to four weeks. The majority of patients with smallpox
recover, but death occurs in up to 30 percent of cases.
Preventive measures
- If you have symptoms,
consult a healthcare provider as soon as possible. There is no evidence
of increased risk of smallpox outbreak or bioterrorism attack using
smallpox, but the United States does maintain an emergency supply of
smallpox vaccine. The vaccine is not currently available to the public
because it can have severe side effects.
Treatment for smallpox
- There is no proven treatment for
smallpox, but research to evaluate new antiviral agents is ongoing.
Patients with smallpox can benefit from supportive therapy such as intravenous
fluids and medicine to control fever or pain, and antibiotics for
any secondary bacterial infections.
If the vaccine is given to a
person within four days of exposure to smallpox, it may lessen the
severity of--or possibly prevent--illness. Vaccine against smallpox
contains a live virus called vaccinia; it does not contain the smallpox
virus.
The vaccine is stored and
distributed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through
the Strategic National Stockpile of pharmaceutical supplies. In the
event smallpox is used as a weapon, the distribution of vaccine would be
coordinated by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
state and local health departments.
DOH Pub 821-024
Revised - March 2008
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