What is the difference between smallpox and chickenpox?

Answer 1

There's quite a bit of difference. Smallpox is a very virulent disease that has been practically eliminated by the smallpox vaccine -- that little scar on your left arm is your smallpox vaccination. Prior to the prevalence of vaccination, smallpox was a killer disease. Now, one rarely hears about it since all babies are vaccinated before they are six months old.

Chicken pox is a common childhood disease, characterized by the appearance of small, red blisters that itch intensely. If the child scratches them or tries to pick the scab, they can leave permanent scars. Chicken pox is very contagious. During the incubation period, the time before the lesions appear, the child is likely to feel sick and have a high fever. There is no vaccine for chicken pox that I know of, but once a child contracts it, there is lifelong immunity. Some related illnesses, caused by similar viruses are cold sores and herpes.

Answer 2

They are related viruses but definitely not the same. Chicken pox is a rather mild “childhood” disease that rarely causes the victim many problems. Small pox on the other hand is a very contagious and very serious disease that can at minimum disfigure the victim and at worst kill the victim. Both diseases give the victim a temperature, aches and pains, and a puss filled rash. However, in the case of small pox the symptoms are far worse. The fever is much higher and the pustules can completely cover the entire body and literally rot the skin off of the victim. At one time smallpox was feared almost as much as the Black Death. It was particularly deadly to children.

One very interesting historical point is that the Chinese figured out a way to inoculate against the disease centuries before the Europeans figured it out. They took a scab from an individual with very mild cases and placed the scab into a cut in the skin of the person to be inoculated. Subsequently, the inoculated person would develop (hopefully) a mild case of the disease and then be immune to any recurrence of the disease for life. A British noble woman learned of the Chinese method during a trip to China and tried to get British doctors to adopt the practice. The doctors were horrified and refused to research the method. The noble woman then experimented on herself and her own children. Later a small pox epidemic hit England and hundreds of children died. The noble woman and her children were spared. Even after this apparently successful experiment, the British medical establishment refused to adopt the method. Only many years later did William Jenner figure out how to use a close cousin of smallpox, namely cowpox to confer immunity to people. The use of the cowpox virus was actually much safer than using even a weak smallpox virus so that was method used for many years.

Smallpox has now essentially been eradicated as a natural disease. I believe the last case was recorded in India in the 1970s. Unfortunately, several counties, including the US and Russia still have stockpiles of live smallpox virus (on ice) for use in research regarding biological warfare, either offensively or defensively. Needless to say, either the use of the virus in a war or an accidental release of the virus could disastrous because very few people currently have immunity to the disease.

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

Smallpox- Deadly, VERY VERY DEADLY.. . . . . Ben Franklin s son, Francis DIED from smallpox at age 4. Plus smallpox BURN, they HURT. AND small pox gets EVERYWHERE, on you back, on your legs, on your hands, on your head, on your face, on your chest, on your belly, even on your tongue and eyes ! Smallpox is one of the MOST deadliest thing to get. but most worse. . . . THERE S NO CURE FOR SMALLPOX !!!!!!!! ( also smallpox or skin color, they are full of acid, bubbly.

Chickenpox- Not very deadly, it has a bad itch, doesn t get on much places. Plus it s red, it s a little red bump.

That s pretty much all I got :D

PS this is written by a 10-year-old :) I know this because I m
doing a project on Ben Franklin and his son, Francis died of this disease
at the age of 4. So pretty much my teacher forced me to learn ALL about the
HORRIBLE disease of smallpox. I know all about the chickenpox stuff because
my cousin got chickenpox at the age of 7, and i had to go online to fin a cure and
along the way i learned/found out a lot of crazy things about chickenpox ! Any way
THANKS FOR READING :) :D ;) ;D

Answer 5

Smallpox is much more deadly than chickenpox, but there is a vaccine for smallpox.

Answer 6

Whats Small Pox

Answer 7

Chicken pox itches
Small pox hurt
I really dont know but ill try to help lol

Answer 8

They're caused by different viruses.