POX DISEASE

any of a complex of viral diseases in human beings and domestic animals, marked chiefly by eruptions of the skin and mucous membranes. Sheep pox and rabbit pox are spread by airborne infectious particles that are inhaled. Horse pox, fowl pox, and mouse pox usually are spread by skin contact. Cowpox (vaccinia) and pseudo-cowpox (paravaccinia), localized on the udder and teats of cows, are transmissible to human beings by skin contact. Horse pox (contagious pustular stomatitis) is now rare. Swine pox, of two types, is prevalent but rarely fatal. Sheep pox, the most severe pox disease of domestic animals, and goat pox are now confined to parts of southeastern Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Smallpox, a pox disease known in human beings as early as 1122 BC, was declared eradicated in 1977 by the World Health Organization. Effective vaccines are available for most pox diseases.