New deadly form of smallpox virus found in Africa and U.S.

GHN News - By 1979 scientists believed they had eradicated smallpox, but now a form
of it is spreading in Africa and has also occurred in the United
States.

During the 20th century smallpox is said to have caused 300 to 500 million deaths.  It is very contagious.


The virus was destroyed after a worldwide vaccination program, ending in
1980.  But with the elimination of one type of smallpox, another has
thrived.

 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 
now online, presents this health information.  It reports that a human
monkeypox has broken out in the Congo, in other African Nations, and the
United States as well.

For awhile, the
vaccine protected against new forms of small pox, but now it doesn't.
This new form has no treatment and can cause skin eruptions, fever,
headaches, swollen lymph nodes.  It can even cause blindness and death.

"All you can do
is provide supportive care," Rimoin said. "There are no antibiotics. If
you survive, the illness eventually runs its course."

Researchers say the new form of smallpox was able to spread because the health infrastructure has been so far.

There has been "a
20-fold increase in human monkeypox in the DRC since smallpox
vaccinations were ended in 1980," Rimoin said.  They outbreak in the
United States came through an infection traced to dogs in the Midwest at
a single pet store.

"The name
'monkeypox' is really a misnomer," Rimoin said. "The disease was first
identified in laboratory monkeys, thus providing it with its name. But
in its natural state, it seems to infect squirrels and other rodents
much more than primates."

One of Rimoin's chief concerns is that the virus will end up moving into the general animal population.

"The point is, it doesn't take much for it to spread," she said.

The need also is to find a way to reduce the wider spread of infections was the conclusion of the presentation.