As scabs form, the person is less contagious. Smallpox is easiest to spread during the first week of the rash. It can even spread from an infected person's personal items and bedding.

It can be passed from one person to another through coughing, sneezing, or breathing, or by contact with the scabs or the fluid from blisters.

Some people worry that terrorists could release the virus and spread smallpox to many people. and at the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology in Russia. Smallpox virus is known to exist in labs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S. And in 1980 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the spread of smallpox was stopped and that the disease had been wiped out.īecause there is a slight risk of serious reactions and even death from the smallpox vaccine, routine smallpox immunization ended in the United States in 1972. Thanks to widespread use of the vaccine, the last natural case of smallpox occurred in 1977. Symptoms appear about 12 days after the person is infected.īefore there was a vaccine, smallpox used to cause death all around the world. The telltale signs of smallpox are severe illness with a high fever, then a body rash. And if you have symptoms, seek medical care. Get vaccinated if you have been around someone who has smallpox. Smallpox can be deadly, so if an outbreak happens, it is vital to stay away from infected people. Smallpox is a contagious infection caused by the variola virus.

Smallpox skin