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variola |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.03 sec. |
smallpoxor variolaOne of the world's most dreaded plagues before 1980, when it was declared eradicated. It was known in ancient China, India, and Egypt. It came to the Western Hemisphere with Europeans in the 16th century and devastated the native population, which lacked resistance. An infectious viral disease only of humans, it causes fever and then a rash of variable severity that blisters and dries up, leaving scars. It is not spread easily, but the virus can survive for long periods outside the body (e.g., in bedding). Edward Jenner developed a vaccine from cowpox. The World Health Organization's eradication project reduced smallpox deaths from two million in 1967 to zero in 1977–80. The virus now exists only in laboratories; in some countries it may be under development for purposes of biological warfare. variola [‚ver·ē′ō·lə] (medicine) How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Clinical experience with smallpox (variola virus) before vaccination and disease eradication indicates that pregnant women are more susceptible to variola infection and have more severe disease (29,30). The CDC also has identified an "A" list of biological agents of highest concern, which includes (a) variola major (smallpox), (b) Bacillus anthracis (anthrax), (c) Yersinia pestis (plague), (d) Francisella tularensis (tularemia), (e) botulinum toxin (botulism), and (f) filoviruses and arenaviruses (viral hemorrhagic fevers). This is the subject that Elizabeth Fenn, after extensive and impressive research, addresses in this valuable new investigation of the smallpox virus, Variola major, and its rapacious spread to all corners of the North American continent between 1775 and 1782. |
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