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Many of us bear a small, round scar on our upper arm\u2014a lasting trace of the smallpox vaccine, a common experience before the 1970s. This vaccine used live Vaccinia virus to trigger an immune response against the deadly Variola virus, which caused smallpox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter receiving the shot, blisters appear at the injection site, which eventually heal and leave a circular scar,\u201d says the original article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scars are visible because each needle prick delivered a bit of the vaccine, causing blisters. The injection site swells briefly after the shot, then returns to normal. But 6 to 8 weeks later, a lump forms, resembling a mosquito bite, which grows into a tumor. It later opens, oozes fluid, and becomes an ulcer, eventually healing into a scar that lasts forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Smallpox was eradicated in most of the Western world by the early 1970s, and vaccinations ceased in the 1980s due to a lack of exposure to the Variola virus. The scar remains as a historical reminder of a once-dangerous disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n