A 135-year-old smallpox scab caused a health scare after government scientists feared the skin may still be highly infectious.The scab, found in the Virginia Historical society archives, was originally used to vaccinate people against the deadly virus.
A concerned scientist contacted the Centrer for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who dispatched two agents to isolate and retrieve the scab, bringing it back to their high security Atlanta head quarters.
The artefact was uncovered after historians at the society began to assemble exhibits for their 'Bizzare Bits' show.
Buried among other peculiar historical pieces was a faded letter, with the small skin sample inside.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the letter, dated 1876, was mailed from a son to his father.
It read: 'Dear Pa ... the piece I enclose is perfectly fresh and was taken from an infant's arm yesterday.
'Dr. Harris says the enclosed scab will vaccinate 12 persons, but if you want more, you must send for it. I will pin this to the letter so that you cannot lose it as you did before.'
Before the scientists arrived museum officials said they were not afraid of the scab, as a medical historian had previously told them that it was harmless. Read More
SMALLPOX: A DEADLY DISEASE
Smallpox is a horribly disfiguring disease, with raised blisters totally covering the skin of those infected.
Thought to have originated around 10,000 BC, it is caught via bodily fluids and breathing phlegm from those infected.
Split into several different types, on average it is fatal in 30-35 percent of cases.
In the 20th century alone smallpox was responsible for an estimated 300–500 million deaths.
After a world wide vaccination campaign it was finally eradicated in 1979.
