Orthopoxvirus/ Smallpox

Taxonomy

Target Tissues

Ecology

Symptoms

Treatments and Prevention

Research

Taxonomy

• Variola Major• Most Common• Most Fatal• Four Types:

1)Ordinary

2)Modified

3)Flat

4)Hemorrhagic

• Variola Minor• Less Common• Less Fatal

-Face

-Arms

-Legs

Target Tissues

Ecology

• Smallpox has been eradicated from nature

• Only exists in laboratories for the purpose of creating vaccines and preventing bioterrorism.

1) Fever

2) Depression

3) Head and Body Aches

4) Vomiting

Early Symptoms

Later Symptoms

1) Rash 3) Pustules2) Fever 4) Scabs

Treatments and Prevention

- Vaccination, but it doesn’t work for everyone.

Research

Current research has been done to distinguish between Old World and Current types of the Orthopoxviruses by PCR and Electrophoresis of the crmB gene.

                              

Research

                              

Smallpox virus can be detected by PCR amplification of the hemagglutinin gene and then determining the melting point of the gene’s DNA will result in the identification of the virus.

References

1) Prescott, Lansing M., John P. Harley, Donald A. Klein, Microbiology, New York, McGraw-Hill 2002

2) Vladimir N. Loparev, Robert F. Massung, Joseph J. Esposito, Hermann Meyer; “Detection and Differentiation of Old World Orthopoxviruses: Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism of the crmB Gene Region” JCM Vol. 39, 2001, 94-100

3) Mark J. Espy, Franklin R. Cockerill III, Richard F. Meyer, Michael D. Bowen, Gregory A. Poland, Ted L. Hadfield, Thomas F. Smith, “Detection of Smallpox Virus DNA by Lightcycler PCR” JCM Vol. 40, 2002, 1985-1988

4) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12/12/02 US Department of Health and Human Services, 12/7/02/12/10/02 www.cdc.gov