Smallpox

Smallpox in the National Security Context

A definition and brief description of Smallpox in relation to national security is as follows:An infection caused by the variola virus, a member of the poxvirus family. The disease is highly infectious. Passage from person to person via contaminated aerosolized droplets (from sneezing, for example) occurs easily, and so the spread of smallpox through a population can occur quickly.