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Smallpox Research Paper

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Without smallpox, the world would look very different today. The deadly disease contributed to the colonization of America, the fall of the Aztec Empire, and many more landmark events in history. Even though today we are completely free of the disease, traces of it still exist in high secured laboratories and it is critical that we all know about smallpox. Therefore today, I will explain what it is, what it does in the body, how you get it, who it affects, and more. Without further delay let’s get started…

While the name of the disease is Smallpox, the name of the virus is Variola. Variola is an orthopoxvirus, these viruses are like chickenpox or cowpox that create a rash of red blisters in the skin. It is also a DNA virus, this basically means it needs DNA to replicate. All of this information I got from the Center of Infectious Disease Research and Policy, or CIDRAP, under the article Smallpox which was last updated on February 24, 2014.

As I just said, smallpox needs DNA to replicate and it replicates through the Lytic Cycle. This is when a virus attaches to a cell, injects its DNA into it, the cell starts making lots of new viruses, and eventually the cell breaks, releasing new viruses into the bloodstream. …show more content…

Smallpox is highly contagious and dangerous. It spread through physical contact with the person, objects they touched, and bodily fluids. Once it is inside of you it will affect the cells that cover the mouth, throat and respiratory tract and as time passes it attacks cells in the liver, spleen, lymph nodes and bone marrow. Smallpox also contains a protein that kills human interferons. This protein blocks molecules trying to stop replication. In other words, the virus will keep on replicating and the body won’t be able to stop it. I retrieved all of this information in March 22 from MedicineNet.com, under the Smallpox article which was written by Charles Patrick

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