In 1796, the British doctor Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with the relatively mild cowpox virus conferred immunity against the deadly smallpox virus. Naturally occurring smallpox was eradicated worldwide by 1980 — the result of an unprecedented global immunization campaign.Samples of smallpox virus have been kept for research purposes.

Vaccination to prevent smallpox was soon practiced all over the world.

Vaccinia is in the same family as cowpox and variola, but is genetically distinct from both. Additionally, it might also spread through contaminated items. No surviving evidence of it, however, predates the so-called New Kingdom of Egypt, which lasted from about 1570 B.C. Stay away from anyone who may have the smallpox virus. The vaccine prompts the body's immune system to make the tools, called antibodies, it needs to protect against the variola virus and help prevent smallpox disease. Smallpox is a highly contagious, serious infectious disease caused by variola virus, which belongs to orthopoxvirus family. Ramses V, for example, who ruled for roughly four years in the 12th century B.C., looks to have had the … There is a vaccine to protect people from smallpox. This has led to concerns that smallpox could someday be used as a biological warfare agent.No cure or treatment for smallpox exists.

The vaccine prompts the body's immune system to make the tools, called antibodies, it needs to protect against the variola virus and help prevent smallpox disease. to 1085 B.C. A few mummies from that era contain familiar-looking skin lesions. Smallpox is a contagious, disfiguring and often deadly disease that has affected humans for thousands of years. Smallpox travels through the air via coughing and sneezing. Cowpox served as a natural vaccine until the modern smallpox vaccine emerged in the 19th century. If there were a smallpox outbreak, health officials would use the smallpox vaccine to control it. Origin of Smallpox. A vaccine can prevent smallpox, but the risk of the vacci… During the 19th century, the cowpox virus used for smallpox vaccination was replaced by vaccinia virus. The earliest written description of a disease that clearly resembles smallpox appeared in China in the 4 th century CE (Common Era). Typically, this occurs during face-to-face contact with someone who has smallpox. The origin of vaccinia virus and how it came to be in the vaccine are not known. Smallpox is thought to date back to the Egyptian Empire around the 3 rd century BCE (Before Common Era), based on a smallpox-like rash found on three mummies. From: Smallpox Sources | While some antiviral drugs may help treat it or prevent the smallpox disease from getting worse, there is no treatment for it that has been proven effective in people sick with the disease. Smallpox is believed to have first infected humans around the time of the earliest agricultural settlements some 12,000 years ago. From 1958 to 1977, the World Health Organization conducted a global vaccination campaign that eradicated smallpox, making it the only human disease

The origin of smallpox is unknown. If you suspect someone has symptoms of smallpox or may work in a lab that handles the virus, avoid contact with that individual.… The smallpox vaccine was the first vaccine to be developed against a contagious disease.