You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Please enable scripts and reload this page.
Skip to content
Contact us
Emergency information
Print Page
Increase Font Size
Decrease Font Size
Menu
NSW Health
Search Keywords
Search
Menu
COVID-19
COVID-19 in NSW
NSW Government - COVID-19
Guidelines and fact sheets
Register a positive rapid antigen test
Statistics and surveillance
Information for people with disability
COVID-19 vaccination in NSW
Information for the NSW community
Information for community pharmacists
Information for NSW Health immunisation providers
Public
Helpful information
Find information by health topic
Find a hospital / health service
Emergency department waiting times
Patient care
Mental health
Aboriginal health
Aged care
Disability
Transport for health
Children and families
Kids and families
Pregnancy options
Assisted reproductive technology
Save the date to vaccinate
Violence, abuse and neglect
Healthy living
Awareness and prevention
Immunisation
Oral health
Emergency preparedness
Sexual health
Ending HIV
Community sharps management
Improving your health
Healthy eating active living
Quitting smoking
Environmental health
Hepatitis B and C
Women's health
Your Room - Information about alcohol and other drugs
Professionals
For general practitioners
Infectious diseases
Immunisation
Tobacco and smoking cessation
Control guidelines
Disease notification
Child weight management resources
For health professionals
Alcohol and other drugs
Clinical ethics
Nursing and midwifery
Pharmaceuticals
Private health facilities
Public health legislation
Preconception, maternity, and child and family health
Interpreting/translating and multicultural health services
Research
Open data
Search open data site
Search via topics
Medical research
NSW Health and Medical Research
Healthcare innovation portal
New health technologies
Human tissue
Population health
Epidemiology and evidence
NSW population health surveys
HealthStats NSW
Careers
For jobseekers
Search for a job
Recruitment initiatives
Training programs
Aboriginal workforce - Stepping Up
Imagine Rural
For students
Scholarships and training programs
Clinical placements
Map My Health Career
Workforce and employment
Workforce planning and culture
Remuneration and conditions
Recruitment and employment policies
Human resources - e-compendium
Medical career planning
Senior executives
Publications
Publications and resources
Fact sheets
Publications
Multilingual resources
Reports
Safety alerts
RSS feeds
Policies and procedures
Policy and procedure manuals
Policy directives, guidelines and information bulletins
Media
Media releases
NSW Health
The Hon. Ryan Park, MP
Social media
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
YouTube
About
NSW Health
Our structure
Our organisation chart
Local health districts
Government priorities
Value based healthcare
Climate risk and net zero
Regional health
Diversity Inclusion Belonging
Engaging with NSW Health
History of medical administration in NSW
Ministry of Health
Our structure
Our organisation chart
Our people
Working at the Ministry of Health
Government Information Public Access Act (GIPA)
Contact us
Ministers
The Hon. Ryan Park, MP
Profile
The Hon. Rose Jackson, MLC
Profile
The Hon. David Harris, MP
Profile
Factsheet
Home
Infectious diseases
Fact sheets
Smallpox (Variola) fact sheet
Fact sheets
Currently selected
Control guidelines
COVID-19 guidelines and factsheets
Smallpox (Variola) fact sheet
Smallpox last appeared in Australia in 1938, and the last naturally occurring case in the world was reported from Somalia in 1977. The virus is now only held officially in two secure laboratories. Any reappearance of smallpox is likely to be the result of bioterrorism, but the risk of this is extremely low.
Last updated: 25 June 2018
Content 1
What is smallpox?
Smallpox was a highly infectious disease caused by variola virus, which often terribly scarred or killed infected people. Since the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated from the world population in 1979, no new case has occurred.
What are the symptoms?
A person with smallpox generally had sudden onset of:
fever
headache
backache
rash with vesicles (blisters).
The time between exposure to the virus and getting sick was usually 7 to 19 days (commonly 10 to 14 days with a further 2 to 4 days until the rash appeared).
How is it spread?
The variola virus only affected humans. It was spread from one person to another through close contact (by inhaling the infected droplets), or direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated objects, such as bedding or clothes. In normal conditions, the virus was unlikely to survive longer than 48 hours outside a human host.
Who is at risk?
At present, no one is at risk of contracting naturally occurring smallpox in Australia. Any new cases of smallpox are likely to result from an act of bioterrorism, but the risk of this occurring is extremely low. In the unlikely event that smallpox reappears in the community, people could be exposed if they were in close contact with a person with the disease.
How is it prevented?
Since smallpox was eradicated in 1979, routine smallpox vaccine for the general population has not been necessary. Should smallpox return, then rapid isolation of cases and vaccination of contacts would help prevent its spread.
Smallpox vaccination
The smallpox vaccine is made from the vaccinia virus, which is related to smallpox but is harmless to most people. The vaccine does not contain the smallpox virus and will not give you smallpox. Vaccinia is a "live" virus, therefore, the vaccination site must be cared for to prevent the spread of the virus to others.
For a number of reasons, vaccination is not routinely recommended for the general public: it does not give life-long immunity, smallpox is unlikely to be seen in Australia again, and vaccination can cause rare but serious side effects.
Should smallpox reappear in the community, the vaccine can be given up to three days after exposure to the virus to protect against or reduce the severity of the illness.
How is it diagnosed?
Diagnosis depends on the doctor suspecting smallpox in a patient with suggestive symptoms. Infection can be confirmed by testing the blister fluid or scabs from the skin rash, or by blood tests that detect antibodies to the virus.
How is it treated?
Currently, there is no proven treatment for smallpox. Patients would need supportive management, such as intravenous fluids and medicine to control fever or pain. Severe cases may need intensive care.
What is the public health response?
Any case of smallpox represents a public health emergency. Doctors, hospitals and laboratories must notify any suspected cases to the local public health unit immediately. Public health unit staff will then advise on the appropriate response.
Further information
For further information please call your local public health unit on
1300 066 055
.
Content 2
Current as at: Monday 25 June 2018
Contact page owner:
Communicable Diseases