Smallpox

Paper Summary:

This paper introduces smallpox, a very serious, contagious and often fatal infectious form of the "pox" type virus. It describes the causes of the disease, its incubation period and its symptoms. The paper then focuses on the smallpox vaccine, its side effects and risks. The paper also discusses the plan which the United States Health Department will implement if there should be a new outbreak of the disease.

From the Paper:

"In conclusion, it would be fair to ask why health care and public health workers should not receive the smallpox vaccination. To answer this, several points must be explored. First, although smallpox no longer exists in the natural world, its agent the variola virus still does. Thus, without vaccination of public health care professionals, three factors could possibly help spread smallpox than was routinely seen in the past. First, virtually no one currently alive has immunity to smallpox due to the absence of naturally occurring disease and the stopping of routine vaccinations in the U.S. in the early 1970's. Second, a potentially delayed recognition of the smallpox virus by health personnel who have never seen a case of smallpox could result in tragedy, and third, the disease could spread due to increased mobility and the crowding of the population in places like Florida, Arizona and California."

More papers on Smallpox:

• Term Paper # 141696 : "The Canadian History of Smallpox"
• Book Review # 129912 : "Smallpox and the Native Americans"
• Term Paper # 142954 : "Smallpox In Canada: 1851 - 1871"
• Essay # 48880 : "Smallpox"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: