Smallpox is a highly contagious, infectious, deadly disease that is caused by a virus which is usually spread through the air and which enters the body through the mouth or nose. Once inside the body, this virus quickly replicates itself into as many as 10,000 copies. Symptoms of this disease include a series of bumps and rashes filled with a pus-like substance that appear all over the body. If not treated correctly, and if the disease does not prove to be fatal, these pus-filled bumps may become permanent scars. In more serious cases, bleeding underneath the skin can occur which makes the skin appear as if it has been burned.
The word smallpox comes from the Latin word variola which means "spotted". There are two types of smallpox. Variola major is more deadly while variola minor is not as serious. If a person survives variola minor, they could be left with permanent scars and possibly blindness. There have been very few survivors of variola major.
A smallpox epidemic broke out in


A smallpox epidemic broke out in
A smallpox epidemic broke out in

Only humans are at risk to catch smallpox; animals cannot get this disease.
