Vaccines Health Center

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People who get this disease must stay away from others to help prevent it from spreading. If there has been a smallpox outbreak and you think you might have been exposed, call your local health department or 911. Do not go directly to a health facility, because you could pass the disease to other people.

How is smallpox diagnosed?

If a doctor suspected a case of smallpox, a blood test would be needed to confirm the diagnosis. A confirmed case of smallpox would be considered a worldwide health emergency. In the U.S., state and federal health officials would quickly take action. They would keep anyone who might have been exposed away from others.

If a smallpox outbreak had been confirmed, a doctor in the outbreak area could diagnose smallpox without a lab test. The doctor would look at the rash and ask about symptoms and possible exposure to the disease.

How is it treated?

There is no known cure for smallpox. Treatment includes drinking plenty of fluids and taking medicines to control pain and fever.

To prevent the spread of the virus, an infected person must be kept away from other people until he or she is no longer contagious.

Can smallpox infection be prevented?

People who have survived smallpox cannot get it again.

Also, there is a smallpox vaccine(What is a PDF document?). It has vaccinia virus in it, which is like the smallpox virus but safer. If you get the shot before you've been exposed to smallpox, it will likely protect you for at least 3 to 5 years. And having a second shot later can protect you for an even longer period of time.

The shot works even if you don't get it in advance. Most people who get the smallpox shot within 3 days after they've been exposed to the virus will have no symptoms or will have symptoms that aren't as severe. Getting a shot 4 to 7 days after exposure may also help.¹

People who have very close contact with a person who has gotten a smallpox vaccine can get an infection from the virus used in the vaccine. The infection usually causes a minor skin rash and is not smallpox. So the site where the smallpox vaccine was given should be covered until the scab falls off.

In the past, when a smallpox infection was diagnosed, infected people were kept away from others to prevent the spread of infection. Everyone who might have been exposed to the virus was then vaccinated. This practice, called ring vaccination, played a key role in wiping out smallpox. Many experts think it would be better to carry out ring vaccination before mass vaccination if there were a case today.