Smallpox, one of the biggest killers in history, is caused by a virus called variola. Variola causes a distinctive rash and is often lethal. The name variola comes from the Latin word for “spotted” ...

Consequently there are many questions about smallpox - the disease and how to prevent it. Variola virus is the etiological agent of smallpox infection. Transmission most often occurs through ...

Intravenous; WR: Western reserve. Prophylactic immunization using vaccinia virus facilitated the eradication of smallpox. Concerns on the possible use of variola virus as a bioweapon and an ...

"We would like to be in the middle." Smallpox, which is caused by the variola virus, was a highly contagious disease with a fatality rate between 30% and 97%. Historical records suggest it began ...

Smallpox, or variola, virus has killed more human beings than any other infectious agent. Fortunately, smallpox virus has only one host-humans -- which made it possible to eradicate it. In 1967, the ...

In this article, we'll uncover the history behind smallpox and its defeat ... Picture this: a world where a highly contagious virus called variola wreaked havoc, spreading through coughs, sneezes ...

The continued existence of variola virus samples leave open the possibility, however remote, that it could be used in a biological attack. Destroying the remaining smallpox samples is an opportunity ...

Scientists retained stocks of the variola virus, which causes the disease, and stored them in secure laboratories in Atlanta, Georgia, and Moscow, Russia. A smallpox attack is just one of many ...

Here’s a look back at some of them. Smallpox is caused by the variola virus, which spreads through skin-to-skin contact or contact with bodily fluids. It can also be spread through the air.

The US Institute of Medicine (IOM) has released a report asserting that stocks of live variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox, could be used to develop improved smallpox vaccines and ...

Not so with smallpox. To create this vaccine, you begin with another virus that is similar to the smallpox virus, yet different enough not to bring on the smallpox disease once it enters your body.