In the majority of cases, smallpox is spread from one person to another by infected saliva droplets that expose a susceptible person having face-to-face contact with the ill person. People with smallpox are most infectious during the first week of illness after the rash develops, because that is when the largest amount of virus is present in saliva. However, some risk of transmission lasts until all scabs have fallen off. Contaminated clothing or bed linen could also spread the virus.

Yes. Anything that can minimize direct skin contact with the patient's lesions, either by covering up the lesions or by Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on the caregiver will decrease spread of the virus. Remember that appropriate patient care must still be provided despite whatever protection is taken to prevent smallpox transmission. See similar questions...

Patients should be placed in medical isolation so that they will not continue to spread the virus. In addition, people who have come into close contact with smallpox patients should be vaccinated immediately and closely watched for symptoms of smallpox. Vaccine and isolation are the strategies for stopping the spread of smallpox. Your doctor has access to guidelines prepared by the CDC for evaluating and responding to a suspected smallpox outbreak. See similar questions...

The early symptoms include high fever, fatigue, headache and back pain. The rash usually follows in 2-3 days, starting with flat, red sores that fill with pus, become crusted over and form scabs that eventually fall off. Most often, smallpox is spread from one person to another by face-to-face contact. Contaminated clothing or bed linens can also spread the virus. See similar questions...

Smallpox is a disease caused by the Variola virus. Statistically, one out of three people who contract the disease die. The disease can spread from person to person, and transmission usually occurs only after the patient develops a fever and rash. There is no known treatment for the disease other than vaccination prior to exposure or shortly after the onset of the infection. The last case of smallpox on the planet occurred in Somalia in 1977. See similar questions...

No. Vaccination is currently not recommended, and the vaccine is not available to healthcare providers or the public. In the unlikely chance a case of smallpox is detected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an emergency supply of vaccine to treat 15 million people. Unlike many vaccines, which take weeks or months to be effective, the vaccine for smallpox is effective if given 2-3 days after exposure and can prevent a fatal outcome even when given 4-5 days after exposure. See similar questions...

The vaccine is made from a virus called vaccinia, another “pox”-type virus related to smallpox but that does not cause smallpox. The smallpox vaccine helps the body develop immunity to smallpox. It does not contain the smallpox virus and cannot spread smallpox. (added Nov 13, 2002) See similar questions...

Febrile prodrome: occurring 1-4 days before onset of rash. Fever of at least 101 degrees F and at least one of the following: prostration, headache, backache, chills, vomiting, or severe abdominal pain. Classic smallpox lesions (deep seated, firm, hard, round, well-circumscribed vesicles or pustules and as they evolve lesions may become umbilicated or confluent). Lesions start on face, palms, and soles and spread centrally (the opposite of chicken pox). See similar questions...

Smallpox is less contagious than chickenpox or measles. The great majority of people in a large room will become infected if even only one person has measles, whereas the highest risk for smallpox is face-to face contact, i.e. within 2 meters (6.5 feet). If there is personal protective equipment (fit-tested N-95 masks, gloves, etc.) on you and the patient, the risk of airborne spread becomes very low. See similar questions...

Yes. The virus in the smallpox vaccine, the vaccinia virus, can be found at the site of the vaccination until the scab falls off (which usually takes about 3 weeks). Because the vaccine site contains a live virus, vaccinia virus can spread to other people and even to other parts of the body far from the vaccine site. See similar questions...

VRE is usually passed to others by direct contact with stool, urine or blood containing VRE. It can also be spread indirectly via the hands of healthcare providers or on contaminated environmental surfaces. VRE usually is not spread through casual contact such as touching or hugging. VRE is not spread through the air by coughing or sneezing. See similar questions...

There is still much debate in the scientific community regarding how BSE is spread. At the present time, BSE is thought to be spread in tissue from the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord) as well as distal ileum, some of which can be present in meat and bone meal. BSE is not spread by animal-to-animal contact. In other words, an animal infected with BSE cannot infect another animal with which it is penned or pastured. See similar questions...

Wild waterfowl are the natural reservoir of all influenza A viruses. They have probably carried influenza viruses, including H5 and H7 subtypes in the low pathogenic form with no apparent harm for centuries. Evidence now suggests that migratory birds can introduce low pathogenic H5 and H7 viruses into poultry flocks and these then mutate to the highly pathogenic form. See similar questions...