What you need to know:
Smallpox is a serious contagious disease marked by fever and a distinctive skin rash. It is caused by a virus and can be fatal. Vaccination can prevent the disease.

Children in the United States routinely received smallpox vaccinations until 1972. An unknown percentage of these individuals may still be protected from catching smallpox or from its worst effects, but they cannot count on protection.

By 1980, the disease was eliminated after a worldwide vaccination campaign. Some stocks of the smallpox virus remained in medical laboratories.

In the aftermath of the events of September and October 2001, the U.S. government is taking precautions to deal with a possible bioterrorist attack that would use smallpox as a weapon. As a result of these efforts, a national plan is in place to vaccinate people and contain a smallpox outbreak. The plan would first vaccinate people who would come into contact with the virus in an emergency, such as military personnel and health care workers. Vaccination of the general public is not planned at this time.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some people should not be vaccinated, including the following groups and people who live with them:

• Pregnant women
• Breastfeeding women
• Children younger than 12 months of age

Because the vaccine in the virus is live, it can be transmitted from a vaccinated person to other people. Persons who have been vaccinated must be very cautious to prevent spread of the virus to pregnant women or other contacts. Vaccinated persons should follow the instructions they receive from their health care provider about how to care for the site of the vaccination. Vaccinations are usually given in the upper arm.

A woman should avoid becoming pregnant for four weeks after she receives the vaccination. Household contacts of women who are pregnant, or are planning to become pregnant within four weeks, should not be vaccinated. The smallpox vaccine can harm the fetus by causing fetal vaccinia, an infection with the virus used in the vaccine. Although the risk of fetal vaccinia is very low, it is serious. The vaccine can cause fetal death (stillbirth), premature birth and newborn death.


What you can do:
If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to get pregnant, do not get the smallpox vaccination.

Talk to your health care provider about smallpox vaccination and other ways to protect you and your family from smallpox.

For more information, visit the smallpox Web site of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.