Weekly Online Lesson Online Lesson Archive Grade Level: 7-12 Subject: Health

Smallpox Threat

With the recent anthrax scare, many Americans are concerned about the growing threat of bioterrorism. While the media is currently focused on anthrax — new cases have been reported in the past week — some experts say smallpox could be a far deadlier threat. Almost half of the people now living in the United States were born after we stopped immunizing against smallpox in the 1970s.

Although the World Health Organization declared the disease eradicated in 1980, the threat of smallpox as a bioweapon remains. Russia has the ability to produce tons of smallpox virus and have successfully adapted it for use in bombs and missiles. It is unclear if other countries possess similar capabilities.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson plans to increase the stockpile of smallpox vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control has about 15 million doses, which might be able to be multiplied several times if it can be diluted. This might contain an outbreak, but wouldn't be enough to protect everyone in the United States or elsewhere.

This week's online lesson is about the history of smallpox, the nature of the disease, and the threat of smallpox as a form of bioterrorism.

Smallpox Facts

For an easy introduction to smallpox, visit the Smallpox Homepage created by Graeme Kennedy. Everything here is fairly general and basic, so students in the middle grades should spend most of their time here. Click each of the links in order and read the short text. If your time is limited, focus on History (500 words), Pathology (850 words), and Prevention (400 words).

What happened when Cortes introduced smallpox to the Aztecs in 1520? How is the virus spread from one person to another? Explain the progression of the disease. Is there an effective treatment once the illness has started?

For a concise and authoritative fact sheet on smallpox, turn to the Center for Disease Control and browse to the Variola Major page. Click FactSheet and read the page (300 words). What is the incubation period, and what are the initial symptoms? What is the mortality rate?

The Smallpox fact sheet states that vaccination against smallpox is not recommended as a way to prevent the disease in the general public, so it is therefore not available. The next line explains the reason: among people exposed to smallpox, the vaccine can lessen the severity of or even prevent illness if given within 4 days after exposure.

In other words, the risks of preventative vaccination can far outweigh the risk of contracting the disease. And since you can be effectively vaccinated after exposure to the virus, you're better waiting until the disease has been diagnosed.

To see images of people infected with smallpox, click the Smallpox Images link (note: some may find the graphic images disturbing).

Smallpox Vaccination

Physicians have been successfully vaccinating against smallpox for over 200 years. Finally eradicating smallpox from the earth is considered one of the great medical triumphs of the 20th Century. To read an in-depth history of the disease and efforts to protect people from it, visit the American College of Physicians site, in the Annals of Internal Medicine, and read Smallpox: The Triumph over the Most Terrible of the Ministers of Death.

At 5550 words this certainly isn't light reading, but the stories are interesting and the research excellent. If you don't have time to read the whole report, scroll down to The Art of Variolation and read through The Era of Vaccination.

How did Lady Montague hear about variolation or "ingrafting"? In America, how did smallpox affect the Revolutionary War? Why were milkmaids immune from smallpox? Who was Edward Jenner and what was his role in smallpox vaccination?

Smallpox Bioterrorism Threat

Having learned about smallpox, you might be able to infer some of its potential as a bioweapon: it has a high fatality rate, it is easily spread, and there is no effective treatment after the 4th day of infection. Go now to the Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies site and read the page about smallpox (700 words).

Why would a smallpox outbreak pose difficult problems to health workers? How many total doses of smallpox vaccine exist worldwide? Why can't the supply be replenished immediately?

For more on this topic, read Smallpox as a Biological Weapon from the Journals of the American Medical Association (9000 words).

© Copyright 2002
Learners Online, Inc.