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May 24, 2002
INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Diagnosis and Management of Smallpox"
New England Journal of Medicine (www.nejm.org) (04/25/02) Vol. 346, No. 17, P. 1300; Breman, Joel G.; Henderson, D.A.
As the last case of endemic smallpox occurred in Somalia in 1977 and the last case of laboratory-contracted smallpox occurred in 1982 in the United Kingdom, many physicians and health professionals today are unfamiliar with the disease, its symptoms, and its treatments. Similar diseases can be misdiagnosed as smallpox, such as severe chickenpox and human monkeypox, though the latter only occurs in western and central Africa. Should a doctor fear that a case of smallpox has been diagnosed, he or she must contact state health officials, who in turn contact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Isolation of the patient is very important, as is determining those with whom the patient has had contact recently, as they should be vaccinated against the disease within two or three days of contact. The smallpox vaccine grants a substantial benefit within that window, thus providing health officials with reason to not vaccinate health care personnel before an outbreak has been reported; the vaccine can even prevent the disease's clinical onset in some patients even after contact with an infected person.
ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND
MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION
PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS
OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR
LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND
COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH
YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.