Posted on 10/21/2001 10:34:13 AM PDT by Brian Kopp DPM
A short primer on viral disease transmission. Many viral diseases are transmitted via fomites:
fomite
SYLLABICATION: fo·mite
PRONUNCIATION: fmt
NOUN: An inanimate object or substance that is capable of transmitting infectious organisms from one individual to another.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from New Latin fmits, pl. of Latin fmes, tinder, from fovre, to warm. See dhegwh- in Appendix I.
In other words, you touch something, get the virus on your hand, then touch you face, mouth, nose or other mucus membrane.
Candy wrappers would be a perfect fomite because the act of handling the candy wrapper occurs immediately before the contact with the mouth.
In other words, no need to inject anything.
Just a light dusting of smallpox virus in the form or a powder. If done correctly it would be undetectable.
And unlike anthrax, which requires thousands of huge bacterial spores be inhaled into the lungs, relatively few microscopic smallpox viruses would be required. And nasal exposure would be sufficient to cause full blown infection, whereas nasal exposure with anthrax is relatively harmless.
No trick or treating for my kids this year.
News/Current Events
Source: Bergen NJ Record
Published: October 20, 2001 Author: MITCHEL MADDUX and PETER POCHNA
Posted on 10/20/01 11:17 PM Eastern by spycatcher
"We have been advised and we are looking into the incident of a gentleman buying large quantities of candy," said Sandra Carroll, an FBI spokeswoman in Newark.
Carroll declined to identify the purchaser, but indicated that he is in federal custody for immigration law reasons not related to the purchase of the candy.
"I cannot comment on INS detainees," Carroll said.
Carroll said it would be premature to draw conclusions about the purchaser's intent for the candy, which agents had not found by Friday night. She declined to describe the candy.
"We have no evidence or information for us to suspect there is any reason to cancel scheduled events," Carroll said when asked if the FBI had concerns about the safety of Halloween. "However, the public is encouraged to remain alert but calm."
Hackensack police took a report from Costco about the candy purchase at the Hackensack store at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday. The police then contacted the FBI.
"They told us to stay out of it," said Hackensack Police Chief Charles "Ken" Zisa.
Zisa said the FBI had already learned about the purchase. A local Costco manager had reported the incident to corporate headquarters, near Seattle, and had sent a videotape from a store security camera, Zisa said.
An official at Costco's corporate headquarters said Friday night that no one was available to comment on the matter. Another Costco official, who declined to be identified, said such large purchases from the chain of wholesale grocery and household goods stores are not uncommon.
Kerry Gill, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in Newark, said he could not discuss the case because of confidentiality policies.
News/Current Events
Source: snopes.com
Published: Oct 20 Author: Snopes.com
Posted on 10/20/01 6:26 PM Eastern by earaiak
No kneejerking allowed. So far it hasn't been unsubstantiated. Check out the snopes site for more info: The Candy Man
Don't worry, if they DO release smallpox, your kids are as dead as everyone else's, whether they go trick-or-treating or not.
It's fine to have a "relative" concern about your loved ones and your own safety but it seems to be getting ludicrous.
You and those that are trembling with fear here, need to lighten up.
Hell man....you could get run over by a car tomorrow.
Most of us over 35 or so have been vaccinated, and while this was long enough ago that we might get sick, Smallpox would not kill us. The kids, on the other hand, are very vulnerable. Not only are they unvaccinated, but kids just seem to always be getting sick anyway. Since lots of kids don't have stay-at-home moms anymore, quite commonly kids won't be kept home from school for every little sniffle, so it is quite possible that not only could large numbers of kids become infected initially by tainted candy, but lots of them could be sent to school when they were just starting to come down with the earliest symptoms in the morning, and by afternoon they would be sick enough to have already infected the entire school.
How would they get the candy to the kids? Returning the tainted candy to the store shelves is one possibility. Leaving large wholesale boxes of candy at the front doors of schools in the early hours of 10/31, with a note stating that this is a gift from some local business could be another plausible strategy. Just driving by and tossing candy at groups of kids during the day and early evening would probably also work.
We are potentially looking at up to 30% mortality of the kids in whatever areas get hit. The mere thought of this is staggering. And what would be the consequences following the deaths of thousands, possibly many tens of thousands of children's deaths?
Anyway, here are two flags I found on Google that you might have missed (because your name was spelled correctly): Here and Here
We don't have children, which is probably why my ears didn't perk up at first.... if we did, I'd sure consider keeping them home, or maybe staging an old-time block party with families who I personally knew & trusted...
All the little ones haven't been vaccinated, far as I can tell- not for years.
Nukes are too good for vermin who would infect helpless children, or even think about it.
I posted a link in post #31. That link will take you to a local, conservative radio person. He apparently made a lot of calls and found out some details. According to at least one caller (didn't catch the whole show), the candy was returned, "inspected" by some branch of the health department, and since they didn't see any holes in the bags, THE CANDY WAS PUT BACK ON THE SHELF!
Yikes!
I do worry about Halloween. We've pretty much decided we won't participate this year. Just the school party. If it's overreaction, no big deal. Remember, they keep warning us that something big might happen. And Halloween is coming. Chances are nothing will happen, but as far as I'm concerned why take any chances?
Hell - I'm gonna hand out aluminum foil hats this year...
I heard about that too, but I thought it was a different case, also involving ME.
The kids are out of luck this year.
Put me on your list. I tend to like the group you hang out with and your wisdom on things. :)
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