How could you have survived smallpox in the past?

Question

I watched the Kurgesagt video about smallpox and he gave a explanation by saying that the immune system took control and it eventually kills the virus,but if you can give a more in depth explanation about it becuese the virus was all over the body and it would have been very hard for the immune system to cope with it knowing that it caused so much damage

In: 8

Answer 1

Not all cases of smallpox were as severe as each other, and some people would have a higher genetic resistance to smallpox because it’s prevalence induced significant selective pressures over the years. There are also other closely related poxviruses (like cowpox) to which exposure would at least reduce the risk of getting severely ill if you did catch smallpox.