The most deadly strain of the virus, called Variola Major, killed almost a third of its victims. Those who recovered were typically scarred, and sometimes blinded, for life.

There are two distinct classifications of variola virus: major and minor (alastrim). Historically, the two types were based largely on mortality rates; however, recent evidence proves that the ...

Sequence analysis has revealed two main clusters: clade 1 includes variants of variola major, and clade 2 includes West Africa strains and variola minor (alastrim). 2 The oldest sequences that ...

The mummy of a child discovered in a crypt beneath a Lithuanian church harbors the oldest sample found to date of the virus that causes smallpox, a new report said.

Rahima Banu, a toddler in rural Bangladesh, was the last person in the world known to contract variola major, the deadly form of smallpox, through natural infection. In October 1975, ...

Smallpox is caused by the variola virus. This comes in two strains: the less severe variola minor and the more deadly variola major. It is highly infectious, and has an incubation period of between ...

What is the Mechanism for Joint Destruction by Variola Major? Variola major resulted in destruction of large joints, particularly of the elbows and knees, in ≍2% of unvaccinated children. It ...

Rahima Banu, a toddler in rural Bangladesh, was the last person in the world known to contract variola major, the deadly form of smallpox, through natural infection. In October 1975, after World ...

Rahima Banu, a toddler in rural Bangladesh, was the last person in the world to contract variola major, the deadly form of smallpox, through natural infection. In October 1975, after World Health ...