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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffSmallpox usually requires fairly prolonged face-to-face contact to spread. It's most often transmitted through the air by droplets that escape when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. In rare instances, airborne virus may spread farther, possibly through the ventilation system in a building, infecting people in other rooms or on other floors. Smallpox can also spread through contact with contaminated clothing and bedding, although the risk of infection from these sources is slight.
- Smallpox disease overview. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/overview/disease-facts.asp. Accessed June 6, 2011.
- Smallpox. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/smallpox/en. Accessed June 6, 2011.
- Friedman HM, et al. Smallpox. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 6, 2011.
- Rotz LD, et al. Smallpox as an agent of bioterrorism. In: Mandell JE, et al. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..X0001-X--TOP&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&uniqId=230100505-57. Accessed June 6, 2011.
- Damon IK. Smallpox, monkeypox and other poxvirus infections. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191371208-2/0/1492/0.html#. Accessed June 7, 2011.
- Executive summary: Smallpox response plan and guidelines. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/response-plan/files/exec-sections-i-vi.pdf. Accessed June 6, 2011.
- Isaacs SN, et al. Vaccinia virus as the smallpox vaccine. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 7, 2011.
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