Smallpox

Man scarred and blinded by smallpox

1972 photo by Don Eddins of a man with facial scarring and blindness induced by smallpox; location unspecified

Progression of the smallpox rash

1908 photos from Ricketts, T. F, Casell and Company showing a smallpox rash on a person's hand; the bottom image was taken 24 hours after the top image and shows the rash near its maximum severity

Smallpox was a serious infectious disease caused by the variola virus. Smallpox symptoms included: a fever, body aches, and a progressive rash. The rash was an especially distinctive feature, and many who survived the virus had permanent scarring on their face and large areas of their body. Three out of every ten people who contracted smallpox died, it was responsible for ten percent of the world's blind, and it killed up to 500 million people in just the twentieth century (Smith, 2013). (About Smallpox, CDC)

Smallpox spread primarily through aerosol in prolonged face-to face contact, often from early stages of the disease that included a rash in the mouth and throat. The virus could also spread through scabs and fluid from the blisters formed during the rash, meaning those handling the clothes or bedding or a smallpox patient could get infected as well. After exposure there was an incubation period of up to ten to fourteen days, and once the first rash started, a person was contagious. When the last scab fell off, usually about four weeks after the first rash started, one was considered no longer contagious. (Transmission, CDC), (Signs and Symptoms, CDC)