Therapy
There is no suitable therapy against a smallpox infection; at best, one can only try to alleviate the patient’s symptoms and additionally administer fiber-reducing agents or pain-relieving medication. If the patient notices the infection in time, he is isolated so that no other patients are infected. In addition, the patient can be injected with the live vaccine, which often leads to a milder or even no outbreak of the disease.
Prophylaxis
There is a vaccination against smallpox with the live vaccine of the vaccinia virus, which is an attenuated form of the cowpox virus. Since serious vaccination complications can occur, such as brain suppuration (encephalitis), smallpox vaccination should only be carried out if there is a well-founded suspicion. The vaccination is therefore not one of the standard vaccinations and should not be prescribed without justified suspicion!
Prognosis and consequences
A smallpox infection is a serious disease. Depending on the severity of the infection, it can have a mild course, in which the patient only retains the scars, but it can also have serious consequences, for example, a patient may be affected by smallpox infection. The mortality rate (lethality) is also very high, depending on the severity of the infection, and can be between 10-90%.
- Go blind for life
- It can cause paralysis
- Brain Damage
- Deafness
History
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been trying for several years to keep the world smallpox-free. In Germany this has been the case since 1972. The last case of smallpox occurred in Hannover in 1972.
Since then, the disease has been successfully eradicated through increasing hygiene and protective vaccinations.Although the world was declared smallpox-free in 1980, some viruses are still stored in special laboratories and many countries keep large quantities of vaccines in stock in case there is a new outbreak of smallpox. There is particular fear that in the event of an attack, smallpox viruses could be used as a weapon, as an epidemic could quickly kill many people.
