RT Book, Section
A1 Gershon, Anne A.
A2 Rudolph, Colin D.
A2 Rudolph, Abraham M.
A2 Lister, George E.
A2 First, Lewis R.
A2 Gershon, Anne A.
SR Print(0)
ID 7030780
T1 Chapter 322. Smallpox
T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e
YR 2011
FD 2011
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-149723-7
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=7030780
RD 2024/04/24
AB The  world’s  last  case  of  smallpox,  which  was  due  to  infection  with  variola  major  virus,  occurred  in  1978.  This  disease  is  ancient  and  played  many  roles  in  the  course  of  history.  For  example,  many  members  of  various  royal  families,  including  Louis  XV  of  France,  died  of  this  illness.  The  global  elimination  of  smallpox  by  vaccination  remains  a  major  historical  and  medical  milestone.  Routine  vaccination  against  smallpox  was  discontinued  in  the  United  States  in  1972.1-4  There  was  a  brief  resurrection  of  use  of  vaccine  in  the  United  States  during  the  early  2000s  when  there  was  fear  that  the  virus  might  be  used  as  an  agent  of  bioterrorism.5,6  The  smallpox  vaccine  contains  live  vaccinia  virus,  which  confers  protection  against  infection  from  variola  virus,  the  cause  of  smallpox.  Vaccinia  virus  can  be  transmitted  from  a  vaccine  recipient  to  other  persons  through  direct  (skin-to-skin)  contact  via  material  from  the  unhealed  vaccination  site  or  through  indirect  contact  by  means  of  fomites.  This  can  result  in  eczema  vaccinatum,  a  life-threatening  complication  of  vaccinia  virus  infection  (eFig.  322.1)  no  longer  seen  since  use  of  the  vaccine  was  discontinued.  This  brief  chapter  is  included  in  this  textbook  to  mark  the  momentous  medical  event  of  disease  elimination  and  to  remind  medical  personnel  of  the  disease  that  once  existed  and,  it  is  hoped,  will  remain  forever  gone.