'Scourge': Killing the Disease - The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox

The New York Times ^ | 10/27/01 | Ed Regis

[ppaul]

:

It was the first, and so far the only, infectious disease to have been eliminated from nature by human effort.

Let's pray that human depravity doesn't bring it back again.

[tallhappy]

Amen.

[Kay Soze]

Thank the Muslims for the fear that this irradicated disease will return.

The west cures and the Islamic world destroys.

Who is the great Satan?

[Theresa]

I am not so worried about smallpox. As far as I understand it smallpox cannot spread until it is put into a human host. Then by the time it becomes infectious that person is dreadfully sick and would not be up to walking around the mall coughing on people. He would be at home, on his deathbead writhing in pain. Given this I can't figure out how the enemy could make sure the smallpox spread to enough people at once to kill en masse. It's like they would have to grab people up, inject and them with it. I am not clear on this. We hear too much about who might have stores of it and not enough about how and if it can be deployed and what the probablity is that an enemy has figured out how to deploy it.

[ppaul]

As far as I understand it smallpox cannot spread until it is put into a human host. Then by the time it becomes infectious that person is dreadfully sick and would not be up to walking around the mall coughing on people.

A Muhammad Atta or Abu Abbas type would be up to it - for the glory of Allah and his true Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, of course.

[Theresa]

"A Muhammad Atta or Abu Abbas type would be up to it - for the glory of Allah and his true Prophet"

Well the enemy has shown that they are evil enough to do it if they could do it. But the question is...CAN they do it? And I think the answer is no. But someday they may be able to do it so we have to be prepared for the future. But I don't think it is an immediate threat. So I am not going to worry about it at this time.

[He Rides A White Horse]

That was when officers of the World Health Organization certified that smallpox had been eradicated from planet Earth.

It seems to me that smallpox is more of a threat than anthrax. Some friends and I were discussing this yesterday.

Because smallpox vaccinations offer immunity for only seven to ten years, and because routine vaccinations stopped in 1980, the world is in effect a virgin population, and highly susceptible to a reintroduction of the virus.

That's what we were afraid of.

[He Rides A White Horse]

I was going to post some pictures of smallpox victims, but I think I'm going to pass at this time.

[Interesting Times]

Well, if you don't understand something, wouldn't it make sense to inform yourself before posting an opinion?

To get started, click here and here

[George from New England]

I'm understand the impression that once an individual has been exposed to smallpox, they won't know it. It'll start to grow inside of them for days. During these days they will be contagious. Am I wrong?
By the time they show syptoms they have given it to most people they've seen for maybe a week. An on, and on.

[Deanna Knapp]

That's what I thought George. I thought it was a cousin to chicken pox and was much the same in contagion time. But I am not an expert on poxes so I leave that up to those who are.

[Prodigal Daughter]

Bump.

[Eala]

He would be at home, on his deathbead writhing in pain. What's the fatality rate for smallpox? I don't think it's 100%.

[alethia]

The typical smallpox infected person wouldn't be at the mall -- but most likely he wouldn't be at home either. He'd be at the Emergency Room, a clinic or the hospital (all with lots of people present to be infected). And what about kids -- they'd in the same places or at daycare or at home with the other kids and Mom -- waiting for Dad. And if Dad and/or Mom are 29 or younger (not vaccinated at all) they'll be infected as well and potentially carry the infection.

Small pox is very contagious. And we don't live like we did back in the 1800's.

I am very concerned about smallpox as even a remote possibility.

[Theresa]

"The typical smallpox infected person wouldn't be at the mall -- but most likely he wouldn't be at home either. He'd be at the Emergency Room, a clinic or the hospital (all with lots of people present to be infected)." Well the terrorist would have to agree to get smallpox and then go an emergency room. But any attending physician would recognise the small pox pretty quickly and the whole place can be quaranteened and anyone in the ER that day could be notified. Well anyway I do wish I knew more about how small pox could be spread.

[jonathonandjennifer]

. Unfortunately, there are several other potential sources.

This from a Nov 5 NR article about Cuban spies. "Jose de la Fuente, a top Cuban scientist who escaped the island by boat in 1999, said recently that Castro's minions know how to manufacture anthrax bacteria and the smallpox virus."

[Interesting Times]

Well anyway I do wish I knew more about how small pox could be spread.

More about how smallpox can be spread.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Good post!

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[GeekDejure]

If smallpox CAN be brought back it WILL be brought back, as it is in the nature of Muslim creature to do so !!!

[Theresa]

Thanks good link it says: "A clandestine aerosol release of smallpox, even if it infected only 50 to 100 persons to produce the first generation of cases, would rapidly spread in a now highly susceptible population, expanding by a "

Well this sounds bad. I wish I could see that expert on TV again. I just know that he really had excellent credentials and after he talked about the small pox threat I felt like the risk was not immediate but we needed to prepare for the future just in case the complications of spreading the virus had been overcome.