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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffEven a single confirmed case of smallpox would be considered an international health emergency. Based on symptoms and appearance of the rash, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or a CDC Laboratory Response Network-designated variola testing laboratory can do definitive testing using a tissue sample taken from one of the lesions on the skin of the infected person.
- 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.
