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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffAlthough most people who get smallpox survive, variola major is fatal in about 30 percent of people who contract it. Almost no one survives the hemorrhagic and flat forms of the disease. People who recover from smallpox usually have severe scars, especially on the face, arms and legs. In some cases, smallpox may cause blindness.
- Smallpox. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/index.asp. Accessed June 17, 2009.
- Hildreth C. Smallpox. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2009;301:1086.
- Friedman HM, et al. Smallpox. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 17, 2009.
- Smallpox. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/smallpox/en/. Accessed June 17, 2009.
- Taub D, et al. Immunity from smallpox vaccine persists for decades: A longitudinal study. The American Journal of Medicine. 2008;121:1058.
- Rotz L, et al. Smallpox and bioterrorism. In Mandell, Bennett, & Dolin: Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/143878763-2/0/1259/0.html. Accessed June 17, 2009.
- Varicella disease questions & answers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/varicella/dis-faqs-gen.htm. Accessed June 18, 2009.
