What is smallpox?

Smallpox is like a super sneeze that makes your body feel really sick and leaves behind bumpy red spots on your skin.

Imagine you're playing with your friends, and suddenly one of them starts coughing and sneezing a lot. That's how smallpox starts, it spreads when people who are infected cough, sneeze, or even touch things that have tiny bits of the disease on them.

When you get smallpox, your body gets really hot, like a fire in your chest. You might feel tired and achy, just like after a long day at the park. Soon, red spots appear all over your skin, they're like little blisters that pop up everywhere.

These blisters can turn into crusty bumps, and when they heal, they leave behind scars, kind of like when you get a big scratch on your knee. Some people even lose their hair or have trouble seeing because the disease is so strong.

But don’t worry, just like how a cold goes away after a few days, smallpox also gets better with time, and today, we can even stop it from happening at all!