Smallpox incubation period/smallpox contagion
Federal Smallpox Plan Promises Aggressive Response if Contagious Virus Is Released
To breathe in the virus and catch
smallpox, a person must be within about six feet of a patient suffering the
characteristic rash. Those who live or work near a patient are vaccinated just
as a precaution.
Smallpox symptoms include fever and a pock-like rash all over the body, appearing between seven and 17 days after exposure to the virus. People are contagious from the time the rash appears - particularly in the first week of illness - until the scabs fall off.
There is a window of up to 11 days between the
time people contract the virus and the time they actually become sick and
develop the scabs that make the disease contagious.
Particularly in a time of heightened alert,
doctors say they would probably be able to recognize a small outbreak during
that window and quickly vaccinate people who came in contact with the victims.
``It has a rather slow evolution,'' LeDuc said. "We think it's not going to be a wildfire."
CDC's Response Plan for a Smallpox Emergency Excludes Mass Vaccination
Dr. Henderson wants to allay public fears
regarding the potential consequences of a bioterrorism attack with the variola
virus. "People are afraid that someone who is infected could spread the
infection widely by traveling on an airplane."
That's not realistic, he pointed out, because there is an incubation period of 10 to 12 days, followed by 2 to 3 days of high fever and prostration with severe headache and backache. "It's only after that point, when the rash begins, that the individual can transmit the disease. However, people are likely to feel quite poorly and to be staying in bed, not traveling around the country."
Smallpox Contingency Plan Revealed
It takes fairly close proximity, within about six feet of a person suffering the characteristic rash, to breathe in the smallpox virus and catch the disease. Quickly vaccinating those who live with or work around a patient is protective.
World Health Body Rules Out Mass Smallpox Jabs
Another argument against mass inoculation is
that the smallpox vaccine can be administered after the disease has been
contracted, provided it is detected quickly, WHO head of communicable diseases
David Heymann said.
The incubation period for smallpox is seven to 14 days and the vaccine is effective if given within four days of infection.