What was the treatment for smallpox?
Patients with this disease were usually hospitalized, but there was no specific treatment for it. Treatment included keeping the patient as comfortable as possible by keeping the skin clean, trying to control the itching, and relieving the pain and other symptoms as much as possible. Antibiotics were used only if bacterial infections developed as a complication. How could smallpox be prevented? Smallpox has been eradicated because the vaccine was effective and used widely to prevent cases. Isolation of persons with disease, appropriate disinfection of articles that came in contact with patients, and vaccination of contacts helped prevent the spread to others. Today, samples of the virus are held under tight security in only two research laboratories in the worlds.
