Smallpox and its History as a Bio-Weapon Research Paper

Smallpox and its History as a Bio-Weapon - Research Paper Example The primary method of spreading was through air vapor, meaning the disease was passed quickly among family members and individuals living or working in close proximity to one another. In addition the scabs that were formed as part of the disease were highly infectious, and clothing or bedding used by an individual with the disease was able to pass on the disease to another. The ability of the virus to survive in bedding and clothing provided the inspiration for use of the virus as a biological weapon (PubMed Health 2011). There is no direct treatment against the disease. When the virus was first prominent vaccination was an unknown technique. Instead, inoculation was used, which involved inserting the virus itself into the individuals being inoculated. The virus is much more virulent that what is used for vaccination, and it could cause sickness for many weeks in individuals inoculated (Adams, Adams and Shuffelton 1876). Vaccination was developed against the disease later on which helped individuals to create antibodies for the virus, protecting them against infection. Vaccination involves the injection of a lower virulence, homologous virus, which allows the body to raise antibodies against the virus without the large negative effects that inoculation has (PubMed Health 2011). . There are two forms of smallpox. Variola major is the more serious form and is life threatening in people who are not vaccinated. Variola minor is a milder form of infection that causes illness but rarely death. When the viru s first appeared, these strains could not be separated based on clinical form except during outbreaks, now they are able to be identified using virological identification .The virus was considered eradicated as a consequence of a program by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1970 . There are a large number of symptoms connected to smallpox including, excessive bleeding, fever, vomiting, severe headache, delirium and fatigue. One of the most noticeable symptoms is the appearance of a raised pink rash, which turns into sores that then become crusty over time. These sores or scabs are able to pass on the infection and the disease is infectious in an individual until the scabs fall off. While the virus has been eradicated from the general population, samples of it remain in laboratories that are used for government research . The virus caused a large number of deaths worldwide, and there are fears that the remaining samples may be taken advantage of as a bio-weapon, such as in a ter rorism attack. Effects if Released There are a number of organisms that could be used in biological warfare that causes widespread death and disease. Smallpox is one of the most serious of these. When the virus was prevalent, the death rate was 30%, and even now there is no specific therapy for infection . If exposure is known, then the vaccine can be given up to four days after exposure. This can prevent the disease or reduce the severity. However, once it has become symptomatic, there are no direct treatments available . Antibiotics are sometimes used to relieve secondary infections that are sometimes associated with the disease, but these have no effect on the progression of the disease itself . The smallpox virus caused widespread death and disease for a significant period of time, throughout the discovery of the New World and the American Revolution in particular. While inoculation was available, there were no treatments against the virus, and those infected were often isolated or killed to prevent the infection from being