Essay Sample on History of Smallpox and Its Spread in Human Populations

📌Category: Health, History, Illness
📌Words: 760
📌Pages: 3
📌Published: 02 February 2022

When you first hear about the dangers of Smallpox, you don't quite understand the full effects it has on a person. We had first discovered the disease as the Variola virus that originated in Egypt three thousand years ago. It was most commonly found in Africa, Egypt, and North America but was most severe in Northern America. Smallpox has never affected animals and only went person to person. Boats coming from Europe to Mexico had a slave on  board. The entrapped slave had the Smallpox disease and was spread through Mexico. The Variola virus soon took over America. It then was popular in Europe, South America, and North America. The most recent outbreak was 1977 in Somalia, Merka town. The man's name was Ali Maow Maain and he was a chef and health worker.  He had made a full recovery and was the last positive smallpox case. He had dedicated his life to end polio then later passed away at fifty nine. This was one of the worst cases that they had seen on someone.

First hearing about Smallpox, you do not realize how fatal it may be. The most common symptoms people received were rashes, fatigue, and high fevers. There were a few uncommon ones that included severe back pain and nausea. Most people did not recover from this virus when it had just come out since there was no treatment. No treatment means it spreads like wildfire. You can get it through the air and bodily fluids so everyone was on guard. The end result for most of these people was fatal. More than three hundred million people died with deep scars on their body. The very few people that survived were left with puss filled scabs on their body that eventually fell off and became scars, mainly on their face and arms. 

How did people recover from this disease before the vaccination in 1798? Most people never recovered and passed away due to the virus. Before the vaccination came out, there was no treatment. One and three people died after six to seven days from developing the virus. Many scientists were working on finding a vaccine that would work and make civilization immune. The first positive working vaccine was in the year 1798 by the british doctor, Mr. Edward Jenner. Edward Jenner was also the first person to get the vaccine. Nobody had gotten the vaccine until the 1900´s when the vaccination was perfected. The smallpox virus was still lingering in some areas of the world due to nobody wanting to receive the vaccination yet.

The year 1901 came around in Boston, Massachusetts and the worst outbreak of smallpox happened. Approximately 1596 cases were counted and nearly three hundred people had passed away from it. The death rate in Boston was up seventeen percent and this outbreak lasted for two years until 1903. Only forty seven percent of the population were vaccinated and those who weren't suffered terrible effects from Smallpox. Many were bed bound and eventually passed away. People would spend up to fifteen days in jail or receive a five dollar fine for refusing the vaccination in December of 1901. After this law had become in place, four hundred thousand people from Boston received the vaccine which had slowed the virus down to a hult. Homeless people were seen as at high risk for Smallpox and people would avoid them at all costs. The last positive case in Boston was in 1932. It is important to learn from the history of this disease so we won't repeat history. The virus was highly contagious and had such a large mortality rate. It has spread across the world so fast that you can call it an epidemic. The death rate was so high that some scientists compare it to the Black Plague.  Once 1908 came around, the World Health Organization, (WHO) ,had said that the disease was gone and  we no longer needed protection from it. 

Smallpox was such a deadly virus that other people could use it against us in an attack. Some terrorists have Smallpox in their laboratory stocks in case they want to take a large part of the American population out. Most of us have not had the smallpox vaccination for a long time so it can wear off. The flu comes every year and most of us get the shot so we don't have such bad side effects. With saying that, if the rogue states used it against us, most of the Americans would suffer from the Smallpox sickness. Other than that they do not see the Smallpox Disease making a comeback to The United States unless used as the biological weapon. Approximately ninety five percent of the vaccinations were successful. The United States of America now knows the correct formulas to protect us so if this virus had made a comeback, we will be prepared to fight against Smallpox.

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