Smallpox Research Paper

In the book, Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82 by Elizabeth Fenn (2001), depicts the casualty of one of the deadliest virus in mankind -- the smallpox during the American War of Independence and how it shaped the course of the war and the lives of everyone in the North America. Smallpox is a highly contagious disease caused by an Orthopoxvirus known as variola major virus. Spread by direct transmission, the disease produces high fever, headache, excruciating back pain, anxiety, general malaise, blindness at times, and the most distinctive of all, blistering rashes that can leave deep-pitted scars. Its spread could be attributed through human civilizations, voyaging, expansion of trade routes. The European colonizers brought

Elizabeth A. Fenn, Pox Americana: the great smallpox epidemic of 1775-82, (New York: Hill and Wang, 2001). Pages, ix, 384, index, bibliography. Review by Samantha Pilcher.

Sometimes the smallest things have the biggest impact. What was infinitesimal but so widespread that no part of North America was untouched by it? The devastation of Smallpox in the 1700s played a key role in the outcome of the revolutionary war and also in shaping modern medicine and in how we handle diseases. But these medical advances didn 't come without terrible sacrifice. Nearly 30% of europeans living in the Americas during the epidemic would succumb to smallpox totaling thousands. But the indigenous population fared much worse. Nearly 90% would be eradicated by smallpox. A result of having no immunity to the newly introduced virus.

The 1918 was a time of war within our world, but along with the war between man verses man there were also a war between man and a deadly disease known as the flu also known as the Influenza. Influenza is a common viral infection that can be deadly, especially in high risk groups. With the world already filled with fear the influenza became a terrorist within our world causing fear to grow within the hearts of the people of Earth. As time went on,more lives were loss, a vaccine was later found to reduce the chance of getting this disease. A vaccine is a dead or weakened sample of a disease that is injected into a person so if they happen to come across that disease their body will be able to identify it as well as destroy the bacteria or virus.

The Hot Zone, an extraordinary novel with chilling events, was significantly amusing in copious ways. The fast paced spreading of infections, the grueling deaths, and the race against time to find a cure; stopping the viruses in their tracks. These main concepts are the greatest points that contributed to the storyline. These factors that Richard Preston stated specifically, came together to create a thrilling novel.

Geographic location helps determine the animal’s availability to domesticate for a civilization. The reason Countries like Europe developed immunity to sickness, was because of how much time they spent interacting with the animals they had domesticated. Other civilizations without domesticated animals couldn’t grow immunity to sickness. This affected a civilization by making them immune to sickness, this helped develop a civilization through ancestry because the immunity would travel through generations. The Spanish and Europeans developed immunity to smallpox because they had domesticated animals and the animals practically lived in their houses, so they were sharing germs all the time. Not all civilizations had the same domesticated animals and some didn't have any at all, so they never became immune to smallpox.

The Aztec empire was very prosperous during the time Spanish ships set shore on their land. Multiple factors lead to the fall of what was to become one of the most powerful and advanced civilisations in the world. Most of these contributors are likely unknown by the modern world, but there are some that we are sure caused the defeat of the Aztecs. The conflict and fall of the Aztec empire was unavoidable. Things such as human sacrifice, religion, and disease all played a part in the Aztec empire’s loss.

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue, opening up an entirely new and unexplored world to the Spanish. There was clearly only one thing to do, conquer it, and exploit its riches. The Iberians at first did not realize the sophisticated cultures they were about to go up against. The Aztecs and the Incas were two very highly developed cultures that had created large empires, and had cities that rivaled those of Europe. As you can see from the map these two civilizations were able to create large and advanced empires. How were a couple hundred conquistadors able to take down such vast and sprawling civilizations? The answer lies in trillions of small microscopic molecules. The Spaniards were able to conquer the “New World” when it was already

Plague has been responsible for some of the worst catastrophes in the story of humankind, and than once changed the course of history. (Dobson 8) There was a terrible plague that went through Europe and killed millions of people. There are many different ways to obtain the plague. Bacteria named Yersinia

During the early 15th century, there were thousands of groups of people with distinct cultures and languages spread across the Americas. Their lifestyles varied from hurters to farmers. Because of the diversity and complexity, civilizations rose and fell even before Christopher Columbus’s voyage. When Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, there were about 50 million people living on the Americas. Their lives drastically changed from the arrival of the Europeans. The European Conquest brought forced labor, new diseases, and religious conversion which greatly impacted the Natives Americans’ lifestyle and ecologies.

The Hot Zone was written by Richard Preston. The book is about how the Ebola virus started and where it came from. It was discovered in Africa. The virus was first called The Marburg Virus. It originated in East Africa from monkeys. The monkeys were very sick, but were being sold to people and the virus was passed to humans. This virus kills 25% of its victims. It causes deaths because it attacks the organs which causes extreme bleeding and blood clots.

Diagnosing smallpox can be made in several ways; by the signs and symptoms that the person presides with; by withdrawing the variola virus from the persons blood or from the lesions; and from antibodies found in the infected persons blood that reacted to the virus. Diagnosing this virus is made in specific laboratories only where there are suitable means for testing and protecting the laboratory technicians (https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/smallpox/fact_sheet).

movement of both the Mongolian army and traders along the trade route it was easy

for this disaster is very much real. The Center for Disease control reports that “because smallpox was wiped out many years ago, a case of smallpox today would be the result of an intentional act. A single confirmed case of smallpox would be considered an emergency. There is no treatment for smallpox disease, and the only prevention is vaccination”[15] It would be almost impossible to disseminate and spread enough of the vaccine in a quick enough time so as to prevent casualties. This intentional use of Smallpox against a non-inoculated population is not a foreign concept to the world. In the Siege of Fort Pitt during Pontiac’s War in 1763, historians report that the British gave gifts of blankets from a smallpox hospital to the chief, Maumalutee,

Cholera is a disease that is rarely seen in the USA. Reported cases of the condition come only from people who recently visited cholera endemic regions or eating poorly cooked seafood. However, the statistics around world speak a different story. Cholera is still a major condition that many people fight against. WHO reports that there are about 1.3 million to 4 million cases of cholera reported around the world annually. The disease is also responsible for death of about 21,000 to 143,000 people per year. (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/)