Residual skin changes in patients who have recovered from variola minor

In order to assess the frequency of occurrence of facial pockmarks after recovery from variola minor, 175 subjects from 5 localities in Somalia were carefully examined a year after recovery from variola minor infections. Only 7% had facial pockmarks (the usual criteria for "positive" classification in facial pockmark surveys). Thus, pockmark surveys cannot be considered useful for evaluating the past smallpox situation in areas where variola minor has been prevalent. A number of other subjects had discolorations of the skin on their faces or bodies, but these are of dubious value for survey purposes.