What is the difference between chickenpox and smallpox?What is the difference between chickenpox and smallpox?
Answer by Dr. House
Chickenpox is caused by the Varicella-Zoster virus. It's a much milder disease that usually presents with vesicular rash on the trunk of the person. Kids who get infected with the chickenpox have a generally milder disease than older adolescents and adults. Unfortunately, this virus is able to go latent and reactivate later when a person's immune system is suppressed, resulting in a condition called shingles.
Smallpox on the other hand, is a much more severe and deadly disease. It primarily presents with vesicular rash on the limbs and head rather than the trunk. One of the problems with smallpox is that it has a much longer period where the person can infect others before the onset of symptoms. Smallpox infects only humans and so as a result, the vaccine against it had completely irradicated the disease, which is why it's not really a significant disease today.
One of the ways to differentiate between whether a person has chickenpox and smallpox is by looking at the condition of the rashes. Chickenpox will generally present with rashes on the trunk that look different from each other. Some will look smaller, others look larger and vesicular, and some even dried and scarring. Smallpox, on the other hand, will have lesions that all look like they're the same "age", looking idential to each other.
Get the facts on the chickenpox vaccine, treatment, causes (varicella zoster virus, VZV), symptoms and signs (itchy, red rash).
Orignal From: What is the difference between chickenpox and smallpox?
No comments:
Post a Comment