Smallpox
| Categorization | |
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| Genome: DNA Virus, dsDNA Virus | Structure: Enveloped Virus |
| Overview |
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- Smallpox was a potentially fatal infectious disease that has since been eradicated from the world through a large, coordinated vaccination effort by the World Health Organization that ended in the 1970s. The virus was spread through respiratory secretions and resulted in a distinctive maculopapular skin rash. Death occurred in a significant minority of individuals due to disseminated infection. Although smallpox is now of historical significance because vaccination is no longer practiced it may be used as a bioterrorist weapon.