Menu Healthy Lifestyle Diseases & Conditions First Aid Symptoms Tests & Procedures Videos Definitions FAQs SmallpoxUpdated: 2017-06-13OverviewSmallpox is a contagious, disfiguring, and often deadly viral disease. Naturally occurring smallpox was destroyed worldwide by 1980.TreatmentsThere's no treatment or cure for smallpox. A vaccine can prevent it. But the vaccine's side effect risk is too high to justify routine vaccination for people at low risk of exposure to the virus. © 1998-2022 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research(MFMER). All rights reserved. Terms of Use