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Died from Smallpox
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Tags: the “pox”, red plague, smallpox, alastrim, cottonpox, milkpox, whitepox, Cuban itch, scars, cause of death,
Smallpox is a serious, contagious, and sometimes fatal infectious disease, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. There is no specific treatment for smallpox disease, and the only prevention is vaccination. The pox part of smallpox is derived from the Latin word Variola vera, derived from varius ("spotted") or varus ("pimple") and refers to the raised bumps that appear on the face and body of an infected person. The disease was originally known in English as the "pox" or "red plague"; the term "smallpox" was first used in Britain in the 15th century to distinguish variola from the "great pox" (syphilis).
There are two clinical forms of smallpox. Variola major is the severe and most common form of smallpox, with a more extensive rash and higher fever. There are four types of variola major smallpox: ordinary (the most frequent type, accounting for 90% or more of cases); modified (mild and occurring in previously vaccinated persons); flat; and hemorrhagic (both rare and very severe). Historically, variola major has an overall fatality rate of about 30%; however, flat and hemorrhagic smallpox usually are fatal.
Smallpox is believed to have emerged in human populations about 10,000 BC. The earliest physical evidence of it is probably the pustular rash on the mummified body of Pharaoh Ramses V of Egypt. The disease killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans annually during the closing years of the 18th century (including five reigning monarchs),and was responsible for a third of all blindness. Of all those infected, 20–60 percent—and over 80 percent of infected children—died from the disease. Smallpox was responsible for an estimated 300–500 million deaths during the 20th century. As recently as 1967, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 15 million people contracted the disease and that two million died in that year.
More people died from smallpox than any other disease in history. During the 20th century, up to 1979, an estimated 300 to 500 million died of the disease. In the 1950s about 50 million people worldwide wee infected yearly. After vaccination campaigns throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the WHO certified the eradication of smallpox in 1979.[5] Smallpox is one of two infectious diseases to have been eradicated, the other being rinderpest, which was declared eradicated in 2011.
Complications:
Complications of smallpox arise most commonly in the respiratory system and range from simple bronchitis to fatal pneumonia. Respiratory complications tend to develop on about the eighth day of the illness and can be either viral or bacterial in origin. Secondary bacterial infection of the skin is a relatively uncommon complication of smallpox. When this occurs, the fever usually remains elevated.
Other complications include encephalitis (1 in 500 patients), which is more common in adults and may cause temporary disability; permanent pitted scars, most notably on the face; and complications involving the eyes (2 percent of all cases). Pustules can form on the eyelid, conjunctiva, and cornea, leading to complications such as conjunctivitis, keratitis, corneal ulcer, iritis, iridocyclitis, and optic atrophy. Blindness results in approximately 35 percent to 40 percent of eyes affected with keratitis and corneal ulcer. Hemorrhagic smallpox can cause subconjunctival and retinal hemorrhages. In 2 to 5 percent of young children with smallpox, virions reach the joints and bone, causing osteomyelitis variolosa. Lesions are symmetrical, most common in the elbows, tibia, and fibula, and characteristically cause separation of an epiphysis and marked periosteal reactions. Swollen joints limit movement, and arthritis may lead to limb deformities, ankylosis, malformed bones, flail joints, and stubby fingers.
Eradication (See also: Smallpox vaccine and Inoculation)
The English physician Edward Jenner demonstrated the effectiveness of cowpox to protect humans from smallpox in 1796, after which various attempts were made to eliminate smallpox on a regional scale.
Burial Practices - Care of the Ill, Dead & Dying:
They were often denied burial in cemeteries as the concern of contagion was great.
- The New York Times - Isolated Reminders of Old Epidemics, by: David Monagan, 9 Apr 2000) (re: burial practices for Smallpox victims)
- Hartford Courant - Lasting Reminders of Smallpox, by Peter Marteka 31 Dec. 2002
- What eHRAF Can Teach Us About Epidemics and “Customary” Burial Practices
- Urban inoculation and the decline of smallpox mortality in eighteenth‐century cities—a reply to Razzell
- Smallpox: A History, By S.L. Kotar, J.E. Gessler
- 6 Smallpox Victims, 1 Stone -- Touted vaccine killed at least one in the 1792 epidemic. Monadnock Ledger, 7 November 1996. By Jane Eklund
Notable People who DIED from Smallpox:
- Famous People Who Died from Smallpox (140 people listed, some with bio info)
- Cuitláhuac, the 10th tlatoani (ruler) of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, died of smallpox in 1520, shortly after its introduction to the Americas
- the Incan emperor Huayna Capac died of it in 1527
- Guru Har Krishan, 8th Guru of the Sikhs, in 1664
- Peter II of Russia in 1730 (died) at the age of 15
- William III's wife, Mary II of England, died from smallpox
- William III lost his mother to the disease when he was only ten years old in 1660
- Famous theologian Jonathan Edwards died of smallpox in 1758 following an inoculation.
External links
- “History of Smallpox,” Wikipedia
- Wikipedia - Smallpox
- Image of Amhearst letter to Colonel Henry Bouquet – give smallpox to Indians
- CDC Smallpox Fact Sheet
- Smallpox Biosafety: A website about destruction of smallpox (variola) virus stocks.
- Detailed CIDRAP Smallpox overview
- Agent Fact Sheet: Smallpox, Center for Biosecurity
- Visualdx: Smallpox Images and Diagnosis Synopsis
- Variola Virus (Smallpox) - UPMC Center for Health Security
- “The Great Smallpox Epidemic,” by Elizabeth A. Fenn, published in History Today, Vol. 53, Issue, 8, 2003
- “Isolated Reminders Of Old Epidemics” by David Monagan, April 09, 2000
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