Contributor: Arjumand Syed
Alastrim (variola minor) is one of the clinical variants of smallpox. This serious viral infection is caused by a poxvirus. Until the disease was eradicated from earth by active immunization with live vaccinia virus and enforced quarantine it was one of the most devastating infections in history. With the eradication of smallpox and a need for vaccination with live vaccinia virus disappeared and so has ocular disease caused by both variola and vaccinia. The potential use of the smallpox virus in biological warfare by terrorists has renewed an a desire for introducing vaccination as a preventive measure. Alastrim has a low mortality (<1%).