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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffEven a single confirmed case of smallpox would be considered an international health emergency. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can do definitive testing using a tissue sample taken from one of the lesions on the skin of the infected person.
References
- 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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