Talk:Smallpox

GA Reassessment

Smallpox

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Result pending

Nine months after I noticed the article, concerns remain so I think this is ready to be reviewed. The article has uncited statements, including entire paragraphs and sections. It is 11,800 words, and I think some sections can be spun out, summarised more effectively, or removed as too much detail (such as the "notable cases" section). The "Since eradication" section might need to be formatted more effectively to remove the short paragraphs for more recent events, and post-2019 should be added. Z1720 (talk) 15:28, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

@Z1720 I will get right on this once i’ve wrapped up the asthma page. If no edits have been made by May 10th please harass me (just ping me here) to remind me but this page has a lot of promise. IntentionallyDense ^(Contribs) 14:29, 3 May 2026 (UTC)

Okay here's my initial breakdown:

• Classification: I tried to reorganize this myself but it still needs some work. some info from classification may be better for the symptoms section. quite a bit of unsourced info.
• Cause: the subsection "Evolution" could be summarized better. Four orthopoxviruses cause infection in humans: variola, vaccinia, cowpox, and monkeypox. Variola virus infects only humans in nature, although primates and other animals have been infected in an experimental setting. Vaccinia, cowpox, and monkeypox viruses can infect both humans and other animals in nature. can probaly be trimmed

will continue later IntentionallyDense ^(Contribs) 06:03, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

Continueing on, Variola virus should probaly be made its own article to help keep the smallpox article at a decent size

• Causes: not sure Concern about possible use of smallpox for biological warfare led in 2002 to Donald K. Milton's detailed review of existing research on its transmission and of then-current recommendations for controlling its spread. He agreed, citing Rao, Fenner and others, that "careful epidemiologic investigation rarely implicated fomites as a source of infection"; noted that "Current recommendations for control of secondary smallpox infections emphasize transmission 'by expelled droplets to close contacts (those within 6–7 feet)'"; but warned that the "emphasis on spread via large droplets may reduce the vigilance with which more difficult airborne precautions [i.e. against finer droplets capable of traveling longer distances and penetrating deeply into the lower respiratory tract] are maintained". needs to be there
• Mechanism: all unsourced
• diagnosis: needs further simplification and some adittional sources
• Prevention: could probably be trimmed or reordered to history section
• for both the history and society sections, I'll look into anything that could be made less wordy and for sources.

IntentionallyDense ^(Contribs) 06:52, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

At still around 12k words, this article is way, way too big. The weight of the sections vary wildly; we have a massive history section in spite of a dedicated article, that contains just as much information about eradication, which itself does not have a separate page. Meanwhile, there is a level 2 section about "Mechanism" that is three sentences long, and may or may not be able to be folded into the preceding virology section. This article should likely be a big high-level summary-style overview with better delineated subpages, but that represents a considerable amount of work. Choucas 🐦‍⬛ 15:08, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

• Circling back to this, there are still uncited statements and the article is at about 11,700 words. @IntentionallyDense: or anyone else, is there interest in continuing to fix up this article? Z1720 (talk) 22:41, 31 July 2026 (UTC)

  I wish i could but unfortunately i don’t have the time currently. i’m okay with this being closed as demoted but i also wish other medical editors would take on some of the bigger articles because i can’t keep rewriting these huge medical topics every month. (not a rant to you, Z1720, just general frustration). IntentionallyDense ^(Contribs) 06:47, 1 August 2026 (UTC)

  Keep: I have addressed the issue by hiving off the sections 'Prevention' and 'History' which already had "main" links, i.e. they should just be short summaries of their subsidiary articles. I've moved their original text to the talk pages of Smallpox vaccine and History of smallpox respectively, in case anybody wishes to rescue any of the overlapping materials that were here to the text of those articles. Both sections now have a "main" link and a short summary-style text reflecting the contents of the subsidiary article. I've moved the Virology and the Society and culture sections to new article Variola virus and Smallpox in society and culture, replacing them with summary-style paragraphs and "main" links. Smallpox is now at 5,000 words which is easily within the acceptable length range, and the sections are as a result in much better balance. The article is shortened by more than 50%, and I've removed or fixed the uncited claims. Chiswick Chap (talk) 09:30, 29 August 2026 (UTC)

• Keep. Concerns addressed and resolved. Z1720 (talk) 13:36, 29 August 2026 (UTC)

Subclassifications of Hemorrhagic smallpox

The two forms of Hemorrhagic smallpox are listed at the same level as the Hemorrhagic smallpox itself. Looks like an indentation issue. I can't make the edits. Perhaps someone with appropriate privileges can edit it. ~2026-39557-44 (talk) 14:12, 27 July 2026 (UTC)