Tell me about it. My homeschooled son, who is 10, right now has symptoms right now that could be an ordinary viral bug, (I actually don't feel well myself, and I have an unusual purply rash on my face) But, all his symptoms are consistent with the early stages of smallpox.
While of course the chances of him having been exposed to smallpox virus is vanishingly small, it's still frightening to have a child come down with *anything* right now. If smallpox virus were used as a weapon, some child, somewhere, would have to be the first. I feel a fear no fever has ever inspired before.
I won't sleep easily again until my child can be vaccinated for smallpox.
My wife and I are praying for you. She's not posting right now but we share your concern and frankly, we've been convinced that this was the next stage for a very long time. People who think they can just throw away all the candy they get trick-or-treating and substitute candy they think is safe from the store are TOTALLY DELUDED if they managed to still feel so smug after reading this thread. PLEASE email us if there's anything in the world we can do for your son and you right now. We're not posting any more because of another matter entirely, but if you wouldn't mind passing the word on: THIS IS THE YEAR TO EAT STUFF YOU YOURSELF MADE FROM SCRATCH AND DON'T EVEN GET NEAR CANDY IN THE STORES.