Smallpox

Smallpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the Variola virus - a lethal virus. Since 10,000 BC, this contagious disease has existed. After a global immunisation campaign led by the World Health Organization (WHO) using the smallpox vaccine, this syndrome was declared completely eradicated in 1980. The smallpox vaccine was the first contagious disease vaccine to be developed. In 1796, Edward Jenner, a British doctor, demonstrated that an infection with the relatively mild cowpox virus conferred immunity against the deadly smallpox virus.

 

Smallpox is a contagious disease that spreads from person to person through infective droplets from an infected person. Although there is no cure for this contagious disease, vaccinations can help to prevent it. It is an airborne disease that spreads quickly and is caused by an infection with the variola virus, which is a deadly type of virus.

 

 

Variola minor and Variola major are the two types of variola virus.

Variolavirus, a member of the orthopox virus family, is a lethal virus. The structure of this virus is similar to that of bricks, and the virus's core is made up of a genetic material DNA that has the shape of a dumbbell. The DNA in the core contains proteins that are required for the host cell to replicate. This disease has a 17-day incubation period, after which it causes a severe fever with rashes on the face, legs, hands, arms, and other parts of the body.

 

• It is spread by droplets released by coughing, sneezing, and direct contact with an infected person.

• This infection can also be spread through sharing drinks, blood transfusions, and other bodily fluid exchanges.

• It can be caused by simply touching a contaminated area.

• Using syringes that have been used or are unclean.

 

Symptoms usually appear 17 days after the variola virus infection. Following is a list of common symptoms that appear after the incubation period:

• High fever accompanied by chills.

• Nausea or vomiting

• A severe headache that is accompanied by other body aches and pains.

• Rashes on the face, legs, hands, arms, and other body parts that are filled with pus or fluid.

There is no known cure for this syndrome and therefore it is a fatal disease. It could be avoided by getting vaccinated against smallpox. This vaccine aids in preventing the disease from infecting humans and causing death.

 

• In India, smallpox is no longer a disease. The WHO's small pox eradication programme helped India eradicate the disease. In 1974, India was one of the world's most severely affected countries by smallpox.

• It had over 86 percent of the world's cases of smallpox.

• India launched ‘TARGET ZERO' with the help of the World Health Organization.

• The programme was founded in 1958. However, it was only implemented in 1974 due to disagreements between the Indian government and the WHO.

 

• To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the eradication of small pox, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Postal Agency released a commemorative stamp on May 9, 2020.

• In 1967, the World Health Organization launched a campaign to eradicate smallpox. The World Health Organization declared the world free of smallpox in 1980.

 

• A new study recently published by an international group of researchers sheds new light on the origins of the Smallpox disease.

• It was suggested that smallpox existed as early as the 8th century CE during the Viking era.

• The Viking Age was a period in the Middle Ages when the Scandinavian Vikings, known as Norsemen, colonised, conquered, and traded throughout Europe, eventually reaching North America in the 9th and 10th centuries.

• Smallpox's origins have always been a mystery.

• Until now, the disease's earliest confirmed case was discovered in the mummified remains of a 17th century Lithuanian child, despite written records indicating that it was much older.

 

 

 

Finding Virus Sequence: The Variola virus sequence was discovered in 13 Northern European individuals, 11 of whom were dated between 600 and 1050 CE, roughly overlapping the Viking Age.

 

Pan European Presence: These sequences, along with early written records of VARV epidemics in southern and western Europe, point to a pan-European presence of smallpox as early as the late sixth century. According to the study, the virus was circulating among people around 1700 years ago, during the decline of the Western Roman empire and the migration of people across Eurasia.

 

Genetic Makeup: It also suggests that the viral strain recovered from the 11 people has a genetic makeup that differs from the modern version, which was eradicated in 1979-80. The Viking virus variant is a member of a previously unknown and now extinct virus clade. Both the modern and ancient forms of smallpox have a common ancestor, but they diverged about 1700 years ago.

 

Course of Evolution: Smallpox may have been a mild disease in the past, so it was suggested that it was a benign (less dangerous) disease. The virus's active gene count has been shown to have decreased over time due to mutation. As a result, the researchers hypothesised that smallpox had become more lethal over time.

 

 

• The study's findings have no bearing on the current spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. It does, however, provide crucial information about how a virus can become more deadly over time.

 

• Nonetheless, it's worth noting that smallpox is the most recent of several diseases whose histories have been rewritten in recent years thanks to ancient DNA analysis.

• A study published in 2015 found that the plague that killed millions in mediaeval Europe can be traced back to the Bronze Age (3000–1000 BCE).

• Hepatitis B, on the other hand, was discovered to have origins in the Bronze Age in 2018.