Variolation

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/variolation

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific principle?Induction of protective immunity via controlled cutaneous inoculation of variola virus
2. What is the comparative mortality?Reduced mortality from ~30% (natural infection) to 1-2% (variolation)
3. What is variolation and how does it help fight smallpox?Variolation is a trick where doctors put a tiny bit of the smallpox virus into a small cut on the skin. It makes the body learn to fight the virus, so if the person later gets real smallpox, the body can stop it quickly.
4. Why was variolation safer than getting smallpox from the air?Getting smallpox from the air usually makes the sickness spread all over the body and can kill about 30% of people. Variolation puts the virus on the skin, causing only a mild rash and fever, and only 1-2% of people get very sick.

Cutaneous Infection: An infection that primarily affects the skin, as opposed to spreading throughout the body.
Acquired Immunity: Immunity to a disease that is developed after exposure to the pathogen or through vaccination.
Sequelae: Long-term health problems or complications that can result from a disease.