The speckled monster (Smallpox)

Characteristics:
A highly contagious and frequently fatal viral disease that is characterized by a
biphasic fever and a distinctive skin rash that leaves pockmarks in its wake.
Because of its high case-fatality rates and transmissibility and because people
haven't been vaccinated against it in years, smallpox now represents a serious
bioterrorist threat. The disease is caused by the variola virus. The incubation
period is about 12 days (range: 7'17 days) following exposure.

Samples of the smallpox virus have been kept for research purposes. And
advances in synthetic biology have made it possible to create smallpox from
published amino acid sequences. This has led to concerns that smallpox could
someday be used as a biological warfare agent.

No cure or treatment for smallpox exists. A vaccine can prevent smallpox, but
the risk of the vaccine's side effects is too high to justify routine vaccination for
people at low risk of exposure to the smallpox virus.

Symptoms of smallpox:
1) Fever
2) General of Malaise
3) Headache
4) Intense Fatigue
5) Severe back pain
6) Vomiting.
In addition to flu-like symptoms, patients may develop a rash that first appears
on the face, hands, and forearms, and then spreads to the trunk.

Causes:
Smallpox is the infection caused by the Variola virus. This virus can be
transmitted in different ways:
Directly from one person to another: Direct transmission of the virus requires
fairly long close contact. In rare circumstances, the virus can spread further
through the air, possibly through a building's ventilation system, infecting people
in other rooms or on other floors.

Complications:
Most people who get smallpox survive. However, some rare varieties of
smallpox are almost always fatal. These more serious forms affect pregnant
women and people with compromised immune systems more often.

People who recover from smallpox usually have marked scars, especially on the
face, arms, and legs. In some cases, smallpox can cause blindness.

treatment:
In the event of an outbreak, people with smallpox would be placed in isolation,
in order to control the spread of the virus. Anyone who has had contact with
someone with an infection would need a smallpox vaccine, which can lessen the
severity of the disease if given within four days of exposure to the smallpox
virus.
There is no exact cure for smallpox. In case of infection, treatment focuses on
relieving symptoms and preventing the person from becoming dehydrated. If
the person also contracts a bacterial infection in the lungs or on the skin, they
will likely be prescribed antibiotics.