Smallpox is the contagious disease spread by the variola virus; unfortunately, there is no known smallpox treatment that actually cures the disease. The symptoms of smallpox can be treated, and the patient must be isolated to prevent the spread of smallpox.
The Mayo Clinic notes that the antiviral medication Cidofovir may be useful in preventing smallpox if it is administered to the patient within one to two days of exposure to the virus. Medical experts are currently testing Cidofovir and other antiviral medications to be used in smallpox treatment, but it will be some time still before results are confirmed. Another note regarding smallpox treatment is that the traditional vaccine can either prevent the disease or lessen its severity, if the vaccine is given to the patient within four days of infection.
It is critical that an infected patient be quarantined to prevent the spread of the disease. In addition, all hospital and emergency medicine personnel who may have been exposed to the virus must also be isolated and vaccinated, if they have not been previously vaccinated. Both the patient and anyone who has come into contact with them within 17 days before the illness must remain in isolation until they can be examined by a medical professional. The patient must remain in isolation until all of their skin scabs have healed and fallen off, which usually is about three to four weeks after the initial appearance of the rash.
Smallpox treatment once the disease becomes symptomatic involves the treatment of the symptoms and antibiotics to prevent secondary infections. The procedures for smallpox treatment include: