Ring of Protection
To prevent a smallpox outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has adopted strategy known as "ring vaccination." Anyone infected with smallpox would be vaccinated and quarantined for several days. The patient's primary and secondary contacts would be vaccinated and monitored for about five days.
PATIENT
Exposure: Smallpox has a seven- to 17-day incubation period, in which symptoms including headaches, fever, malaise, and a rash on the hands, feet or face will start to appear.
Response: At the hospital, the patient is taken to an isolation room equipped with a negative-airflow system to contain the virus. A smallpox response team, made up of immunized health care workers, is called in to vaccinate the patient and set the ring vaccination strategy in motion.
RING 1: PRIMARY CONTACTS
Exposure: Anyone who had direct contact with the patient during the past few days, including family members, friends, co-workers or hospital staff.
Response: Direct contacts are vaccinated and told to monitor their temperature for four to five days. They are immediately quarantined if they develop a fever, even without a rash.
RING 2: SECONDARY CONTACTS
Exposure: Could include entire communities and neighborhoods, depending upon the circumstances of the outbreak. Secondary contacts could also include friends, family or co-workers of those in contact with people in Ring 1.
Response: Same measures as those taken for Ring 1.
Source: CDC and staff reports
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