The Smallpox Threat

Paper Summary:

This paper deals with the threat of virus variola (smallpox) as a biological weapon, particularly against Australia. It covers the history of smallpox (both generally and as a biological weapon), its microbiology (structure, forms, causes and symptoms) and its epidemiology (distribution, methods of control and recommendations to limit distribution in Australia). This is coupled with several diagrams and graphs.

Outline
Introduction
Smallpox History
Microbiology
Epidemiology
Methods of control
Recommendations
Conclusion
Appendix

From the Paper:

"Coming from the genus Orthopoxvirus and the family Poxviridae, the virus variola comes in several different forms (Fields, 05:369). The two most common forms are that of Variola major and variola minor. Both produce very similar symptoms, however while variola minor has a fatality rate of around 1%, variola major has a fatality rate of approximately 30% (Mayo clinic, 2003) The virus also comes in two rare forms: haemorrhagic and malignant. Killing 95% of its victims Haemorrhagic smallpox occurs in around 3% of variola major victims and is characterized by dark, purplish, blotchy flushing of the skin followed by high levels of blood loss through the skin and organs (Utah Government, 2002). Malignant smallpox victim's early symptoms are similar to that of the other forms of the disease, however the lesions never take on puss and remain flat. Malignant smallpox is more rare than its counterpart, however its fatality rate reaches that of 100%. (E-medicine, 2005)."

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