Premium

Download the Smallpox Facts & Worksheets

Click the button below to get instant access to these worksheets for use in the classroom or at a home.

Download This Worksheet

This download is exclusively for KidsKonnect Premium members!
To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download!

Sign Me Up

Already a member? Log in to download.

Download

Edit This Worksheet

Editing resources is available exclusively for KidsKonnect Premium members.
To edit this worksheet, click the button below to signup (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start editing!

Sign Up

Already a member? Log in to download.

Edit

This worksheet can be edited by Premium members using the free Google Slides online software. Click the Edit button above to get started.

Smallpox, caused by the variola virus, is a highly contagious disease. It was one of the most lethal diseases ever known to humankind, which killed millions of people before it was eradicated. It is believed to have emerged 3,000 years ago.

See the fact file below for more information on Smallpox, or you can download our 31-page Smallpox worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

BACKGROUND

• Smallpox is a potentially fatal infectious disease that is highly contagious. It has no specific treatment; the only way to avoid it is to get vaccinated. 
• Monkeypox virus (confirmed to be an outbreak in May 2022), Vaccinia virus, and Cowpox virus are other orthopoxvirus species.

Virus Classification

• The term variola was first used for smallpox in 570 CE. It originated from the Latin words varius, meaning “stained”, or varus, meaning “mark on the skin”. Small pockes (pocke means sac) was first used in England at the end of the 15th century to distinguish the disease from syphilis, which was referred to during that time as the great pockes.

HISTORY

• Smallpox’s origin is unknown. The discovery of smallpox-like rashes on Egyptian mummies suggests that the disease has existed for at least 3,000 years. In the 4th century CE, the first written description of a disease like smallpox appeared in China. Early written reports were also found in India in the 7th century, and Asia Minor in the 10th.
• Spread. Historians attribute the global spread of smallpox to the rise of civilizations and the spread of exploration. The disease spread due to the expansion of trade routes over the centuries.
• Early Control Measures. Variolation was one of the first methods for controlling the disease. People who never had smallpox were exposed to the virus by scratching it into their arm or ingesting it through their noses. People died from this at a lower rate than if they had contracted smallpox naturally.
• The basis for vaccination was discovered in 1796 by the English doctor Edward Jenner, who noticed that milkmaids who had cowpox were immune to smallpox. Jenner was also aware of variolation and surmised that exposure to cowpox could be used to protect against smallpox infection.
• To put his theory to the test, Dr. Jenner inoculated a cowpox scab from a milkmaid into the arm of James Phipps, the 8-year-old son of Jenner’s gardener. Jenner repeatedly exposed Phipps to the variola virus months later, but he never developed smallpox. Vaccination became widely accepted and gradually supplanted variolation. 

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

• As the disease progresses, a person with smallpox goes through several stages. There are distinct symptoms and signs for each stage.
• Incubation Period. This stage can last from 7 to 19 days (although the average length is 10 to 14 days). The disease is not yet contagious. The incubation period is the time a virus spends in a person’s body before they become ill. During this time, most people have no symptoms and may feel fine.
• Initial Symptoms. This stage lasts between 2 to 4 days and is when a person is also contagious. Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, headache, extreme tiredness, severe back pain, and occasionally, vomiting. 
• Early Rash. This stage lasts approximately four days and is the most contagious. A rash begins with small red spots on the tongue and inside the mouth. These spots develop into sores, which rupture and release large amounts of the virus into the mouth and throat. 
• By the fourth day, the skin sores have filled with a thick, opaque fluid which commonly has a dent in the middle. When the skin sores fill with fluid, the fever may return and remain high until scabs form over the bumps. When the mouth sores start to heal, a rash appears on the skin, first on the face, then spreads to the arms and legs, and then to the hands and feet. As the rash appears, the individual may begin to feel better.
• Pustular Rash and Scabs. This stage lasts approximately ten days. The sores develop into pustules. The pustules form a crust and then scab after about five days. Most sores have scabbed over by the second week after the rash appears.
• Scabs Fall Off. This stage lasts approximately six days. The scabs start to fall off and leave scars on the skin. Most scabs will have peeled off three weeks after the rash appears.
• No Scabs. Scabs should have fallen off four weeks after the rash appears. The person is no longer contagious once all scabs have fallen off.

FORMS AND TYPES

• There are two clinical forms of smallpox: Variola major, which is the most severe and common form, with a larger rash and a higher fever. The other one is the Variola minor (also known as Alastrim) is a less common presentation, causing less severe disease, typically discrete smallpox, with less death.
• Variola major smallpox is classified into four types: 
  • Ordinary. It usually produces a discrete rash with the pustules standing out on the skin separately. The rash is dense on the face, denser on the extremities than on the trunk, and thicker on the distal extremities than on the proximal.  
  • Modified. This occurs in previously immunized people. The symptoms are less severe. Skin lesions are fewer, evolve faster, and may not display the uniformity of more typical smallpox. Patients also do not usually have a fever as the rash develops. It is rarely fatal. This strain of variola major is more easily mistaken for chickenpox.
  • Flat or Malignant. It is extremely rare and more prevalent in children. The skin lesions develop slowly, merge, and remain balanced and soft to the touch. They never reach the pustular stage. The majority of these are fatal. If one survives, lesions will gradually fade away without forming scabs. 
  • Hemorrhagic. It causes extensive bleeding into the skin, mucous membranes, gastrointestinal tract, and viscera. It has a shorter incubation period. Bleeding occurs beneath the skin, giving it a charred and black appearance. It is usually fatal. Vaccination appears to provide no immunity to it.

COMPLICATIONS

• Today, the majority of people who contract smallpox survive, but some rare types of smallpox are almost always fatal. Pregnant women, and children, are the most vulnerable to these more severe forms.
• Smallpox survivors typically have severe scars, particularly on the face, arms, and legs. It can sometimes cause vision loss.
• There is no evidence of recurrent variola virus infection. 
• The exact cause of death from smallpox is unknown, but the infection is known to affect multiple organs. In some cases, death occurs for similar reasons of burn victims, i.e. loss of fluid, protein, electrolytes, and fulminant sepsis.

TRANSMISSION

• Directly from one person to another. Patients with smallpox became contagious once the first sores appear. When they cough or sneeze, droplets spread the virus to others. 
• Indirect transmission. People on other floors or in rooms of the same building can contract smallpox through airborne transmission.
• Using contaminated items. Contact with contaminated clothing and bedding can spread smallpox. To avoid becoming infected, it is necessary to wear gloves when washing a patient’s bedding or clothing, and take safety precautions when caring for smallpox patients.
• Only humans can spread smallpox. According to scientists, there is no evidence that smallpox can be transmitted by insects or animals.

VACCINE

• The smallpox vaccine helps people develop immunity to the disease, thereby protecting them from it. The smallpox vaccine contains a live vaccinia virus rather than a killed or weakened virus. Mild symptoms such as rash, fever, and head and body aches can occur after receiving the vaccine.  It can protect people from the disease for 3 to 5 years. 
• Smallpox vaccines are not available to the general public because the disease has been eradicated. However, if a smallpox outbreak occurs, two licensed smallpox vaccines in the US can be used in a smallpox emergency.

ERADICATION

• In 1967, the WHO intensified its efforts to eradicate smallpox. Many laboratories were able to produce a higher-quality freeze-dried vaccine. The development of the bifurcated needle, the establishment of a case surveillance system, and mass vaccination campaigns were also important factors in the success of the increased efforts.
• For several years, widespread immunization and surveillance were carried out worldwide. Smallpox was the only infectious disease to achieve distinction when it was declared eradicated by the WHO in 1980. This is still one of the most notable and profound public health achievements in history.

LAST CASES OF SMALLPOX

• Rahima Banu, a two-year-old Bangladeshi girl, was the last person in the world to have naturally acquired smallpox in late 1975. She was quarantined at home, with house guards on duty 24 hours a day. A house-to-house vaccination campaign began immediately within a 1.5-mile radius of her home. A member of the Smallpox Eradication Program team also visited every place within a 5-mile radius. 
• Janet Parker was the last person to die because of smallpox. Parker was a medical photographer at Birmingham University Med School in England. She worked on the same floor where staff and students conducted smallpox research. On August 11, she fell ill and broke out in a rash on August 15. She passed away on September 11, 1978. 

STOCKS OF VARIOLA VIRUS

• Following the eradication of smallpox, scientists and public health officials determined that research using the variola virus was still necessary. The United States, England, Russia, and South Africa were the four countries that served as a WHO collaborating center working with the variola virus in 1981. 
• By 1984, England and South Africa had destroyed or transferred their stocks to other laboratories. Only the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, and the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology in Koltsovo, Russia, are currently authorized by the WHO to store and handle variola virus.

HISTORICAL IMPACT OF SMALLPOX

• Smallpox was a terrible disease throughout history. It did not discriminate between classes or races. 
• In the 18th century in England, nearly 40,000 people died every year. Of those who survived, around 30% were blinded, and most were left with disfiguring scars.
• Queen Elizabeth I is arguably one of the most famous people to have survived smallpox. She contracted it in 1562. She was gravely ill and many feared she would die. This was a big problem because of the succession crisis is presented: she was not married and did not have any children to be her heir. Fortunately, she recovered. In the years after surviving smallpox, Queen Elizabeth began wearing a lot of makeup to hide the scars on her face.
• Because smallpox emerged in Europe a long time ago, there were many epidemics. When the Roman Empire began to decline around 108 CE, it coincided with a large-scale outbreak of smallpox.
• When Spanish and Portuguese explorers arrived in the New World, they brought smallpox with them. Smallpox was unknown to South, Central, and North America. The indigenous people had no immunity to the disease and it spread rapidly. It decimated indigenous populations and played a role in the fall of empires such as the Aztecs and Incas. 

Smallpox Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Smallpox across 31 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Smallpox, which is caused by the variola virus and is a highly contagious disease.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Smallpox Facts 
2. About The Virus
3. Ancient Records
4. Identifying Symptoms
5. Odd One Out
6. Poxes
7. Smallpox Wordle
8. From One to Another
9. Vaccinate With Me
10. The End of Smallpox
11. Your Thoughts

Frequently Asked Questions

How did smallpox start?

No one is precisely sure when smallpox started, but it might have been around for 3,000 years. This is because there is evidence of it on mummified bodies. The earliest writing record resembling smallpox is from ancient China in the 4th century BC.

Is smallpox still extinct?

In 1980, the World Health Assembly announced with pride that smallpox had been completely eradicated worldwide. Since then, there have been no naturally occurring cases of the condition.

How smallpox kills?

Scientists have discovered how smallpox kills us. They found that smallpox attacks molecules in our bodies that stop viruses from making copies of themselves. This makes it hard for our immune system to fight the virus, and we eventually die.

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Smallpox Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, November 30, 2022