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WHO Smallpox Outbreak Alert for November
Weekly Epidemiological Record ^ | 11/2/2001 | World Health Organization

Posted on 11/16/2001 1:24:19 PM PST by gaucho

SMALLPOX


Weekly Epidemiological Record (C) 2001 World Health Organization
2 NOVEMBER 2001, 76th YEAR No. 44, 2001, 76, 337-344
http://www.who.int/wer/76_27_52.html

Forms of the Disease

There were two main forms of smallpox: variola major and variola minor. The two forms showed similar lesions. The disease followed a milder course in variola minor, which had a case-fatality rate of < 1%. The fatality rate of variola major was around 30%.

There were two rare forms of smallpox: haemorrhagic and malignant. In the former, invariably fatal, the rash was accompanied by haemorrhage into the mucous membranes and the skin. Malignant smallpox was characterized by lesions that did not develop to the pustular stage but remained soft and flat. It was almost invariably fatal.

Clinical Features

The incubation period of smallpox is usually 12-14 days (range 7-17) during which there is no evidence of viral shedding. During this period, the person looks and feels healthy and cannot infect others. The incubation period is followed by the sudden onset of influenza-like symptoms including fever, malaise, headache, prostration, severe back pain and, less often, abdominal pain and vomiting. Two to three days later, the temperature falls and the patient feels somewhat better, at which time the characteristic rash appears, first on the face, hands and forearms and then after a few days progressing to the trunk. Lesions also develop in the mucous membranes of the nose and mouth, and ulcerate very soon after their formation, releasing large amounts of virus into the mouth and throat.

The centrifugal distribution of lesions, more prominent on the face and extremities than on the trunk, is a distinctive diagnostic feature of smallpox and gives the trained eye cause to suspect the disease. Lesions progress from macules to papules, to vesicles, to pustules. All lesions in a given area progress together through these stages. From 8 to 14 days after the onset of symptoms, the pustules form scabs which leave depressed, depigmented scars upon healing.

Smallpox was sometimes confused with chickenpox, a worldwide infection of children that is seldom lethal. Chickenpox can be distinguished from smallpox by its much more superficial lesions, their presence more on the trunk than on the face and extremities, and by the development of successive crops of lesions in the same area. Smallpox is a disease which can be easily diagnosed by trained health workers without the need for laboratory support. During the eradication campaign, WHO produced training materials designed to help health staff recognize smallpox, distinguish it from chickenpox, and avoid common diagnostic errors. These materials are now available electronically. (A WHO slide set on the diagnosis of smallpox can be found at http://www.who.int/emc/diseases/smallpox/slideset/index.htm).

Infectivity

Persons carrying the virus during the incubation period cannot infect others. The frequency of infection is highest after face-to-face contact with a patient once fever has begun and during the first week of rash, when the virus is released via the respiratory tract. Although patients remain infectious until the last scabs fall off, the large amounts of virus shed from the skin are not highly infectious. Exposure to patients in the late stages of the disease is much less likely to produce infection in susceptible contacts. As a precaution, WHO isolation policy during the eradication campaign required that patients remain in isolation, in hospital or at home, until the last scab had separated.

Transmission

In the absence of immunity induced by vaccination, human beings appear to be universally susceptible to infection with the smallpox virus. There is no animal reservoir. Insects play no role in transmission.

Smallpox is transmitted from person to person by infected aerosols and air droplets spread in face-to-face contact with an infected person after fever has begun, especially if symptoms include coughing. The disease can also be transmitted by contaminated clothes and bedding, though the risk of infection from this source is much lower.

In the past, patients suffering from variola major (the more severe form of the disease) became bedridden early (in the phase before the eruption of rash) and remained so throughout the illness. Spread of infection was limited to close contacts in a small vicinity. Variola minor, however, was so mild that patients infected with this form frequently remained ambulatory during the infectious phase of their illness and thus spread the virus far more widely.

During the eradication campaign, investigations of outbreaks caused by importations of cases into industrialized countries in temperate areas showed that, in a closed environment, airborne virus could sometimes spread within buildings via the ventilation system and infect persons in other rooms or on other floors in distant and apparently unconnected spaces. This mode of transmission was not important in those tropical areas where houses and hospitals did not use ventilation systems. Epidemics developed comparatively slowly. The interval between each generation of cases was 2-3 weeks.

When natural outbreaks occurred, the initial (or "index") case rarely infected as many as 5 other persons, even during the peak transmission season. On some occasions, such as the outbreak that followed importation of a case into the former Yugoslavia in 1972, index cases infected more than a dozen people. Unfortunately, historical data are available only from periods with substantial population immunity either from vaccination or from having survived natural infection. In the absence of natural disease and vaccination, the global population is significantly more susceptible. Some experts have estimated that today's rate of transmission would be more in the order of 10 new infections per infected person.

Treatment

Vaccine administered up to 4 days after exposure to the virus provides protective immunity and can prevent infection or ameliorate the severity of the disease. No effective treatment, other than the management of symptoms, is currently available. A number of compounds are under investigation as chemotherapeutic agents. One of these, cidofovir, has produced promising results in laboratory studies.

Management of an Outbreak

Emphasis must be placed on preventing epidemic spread. In doing so, it should be kept in mind that smallpox patients are not infectious during the early stage of the disease but become so from the first appearance of fever and remain so, though to a lesser degree, until all scabs have separated. Also, immunity develops rapidly after vaccination against smallpox (see above).

Surveillance of smallpox infection is probably easier than for any other infectious disease. A distinctive rash is produced (see above) which is wholly characteristic in the great majority of cases. The rash is most dense over the face and hands - unclothed and readily visible portions of the body.

Experiences from the eradication campaign indicate that, in the presence of a strong surveillance system sensitive to smallpox cases and backed by an adequate infrastructure, small but rapid and thorough containment actions can break the transmission chain and halt a smallpox outbreak within a relatively short time. Containment involves efficient detection of cases and identification and vaccination of contacts.

Patients diagnosed with smallpox should be physically isolated. All persons who have or will come into close contact with them should be vaccinated. As hospitals have proven to be sites of epidemic magnification during smallpox outbreaks, patient isolation at home should be considered where hospitals do not have isolation facilities. Whatever the policy, isolation is essential to break the chain of transmission.

Patients who developed rash before their isolation should be asked to recount all recent contacts. Contacts should be vaccinated. If it is not feasible to vaccinate contacts, they should be placed on daily fever watch, which should continue up to 18 days from the last day of contact with the case. If these contacts have 2 consecutive readings of 38 deg C or above, they should be isolated.

All specimen collectors, care givers and attendants coming into close contact with patients should be vaccinated as soon as smallpox is diagnosed as the cause of an outbreak. In the case of a widespread outbreak, people should be advised to avoid crowded places and follow public health advice on precautions for personal protection.

Infection Control in Health Care Facilities
Vaccines

Smallpox vaccine contains live vaccinia virus, a virus in the orthopoxvirus family and closely related to variola virus, the agent that causes smallpox. Immunity resulting from immunization with vaccinia virus (vaccination) protects against smallpox.

In December 1999, a WHO Advisory Committee on Variola Virus concluded that, although vaccination is the only proven public health measure available to prevent and control a smallpox outbreak, current vaccine supplies are extremely limited. The Committee also noted that, at that time, several countries were contemplating the need to produce more vaccine stocks. Now, a number of governments have chosen to examine their stocks, test their potency, and consider whether more vaccine is required.

A WHO survey conducted in 1998 indicated that approximately 90 million declared doses of the smallpox vaccine were available worldwide. Storage conditions and potency of these stocks are not known. Most existing vaccine stocks and the vaccine used in the WHO eradication campaign consist of pulp scraped from vaccinia-infected animal skin, mainly calf or sheep, with phenol added to a concentration sufficient to kill bacteria but not so high as to inactivate the vaccinia virus. The vaccine is then freeze-dried and sealed in ampoules for later resuspension in sterile buffer and subsequent intradermal inoculation by multiple puncture with a bifurcated needle.

The seed virus (vaccinia virus strain Lister Elstree) used to produce the vaccine is being held for WHO by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Smallpox Vaccine in Bilthoven, the Netherlands. This centre also tests batches of the smallpox vaccine for potency every 5 years. Vaccines properly stored for as long as 18 years have not lost their potency.

Duration of Protection Following Vaccination

Vaccination usually prevents smallpox infection for at least 10 years. If symptoms appear, they are milder and mortality is less in vaccinated than in nonvaccinated persons. Even when immunity has waned, vaccinated persons shed less virus and are less likely to transmit the disease.

Complications of Vaccination

Existing vaccines have proven efficacy but also have a high incidence of adverse side-effects. The risk of adverse events is sufficiently high that vaccination is not warranted if there is no or little real risk of exposure. Vaccine administration is warranted in individuals exposed to the virus or facing a real risk of exposure (see above). A safer vaccinia-based vaccine, produced in cell culture, is expected to become available shortly. There is also interest in developing monoclonal antivariola antibody for passive immunization of exposed and infected individuals, which could also be safely administered to persons infected with HIV.

Contraindications

Vaccination is contraindicated for certain groups. These include pregnant women, persons with immune disorders or experiencing therapeutically-induced immunosuppression, persons with HIV infection and persons with a history of eczema. Should national authorities decide that the risk of epidemic spread is so great that such groups should receive protection, it may be advisable to attempt to limit adverse effects through intramuscular administration of vaccinia immunoglobulin, if available, from vaccinia-infected sheep or calves.

About the Virus

The causative agent, variola virus, is a member of the genus Orthopoxvirus, subfamily Chordopoxvirinae of the family Poxviridae. Other members of the genus include cowpox, camelpox and monkeypox. Monkeypox virus has caused the most serious recent human poxvirus infection.

Variola virus is relatively stable in the natural environment. If aerosolized, it probably retains its infectivity for at least several hours if not exposed to sunlight or ultraviolet light. The variola virus measures 260 nm by 150 nm and contains a molecule of double-stranded DNA putatively coding for some 200 different proteins, one of the largest viral genomes known. The size of the genome makes it especially difficult to create a synthetic copy of the virus.

The Ad Hoc Committee on Orthopoxvirus Infections, at its meetings in 1994 and 1999, has recommended that no one other than the 2 WHO collaborating centres in the Russian Federation and the United States may have in possession at one time more than 20% of the viral DNA for variola virus.

WHO Instructions for Vaccine Administration Using the Bifurcated Needle (Multipuncture Technique)
  1. Site of vaccination. Outer aspect of upper arm over the insertion of deltoid muscle.
  2. Preparation of skin. None. If site is obviously dirty, a cloth moistened with water may be used to wipe the site. Use of a disinfectant can kill the vaccine virus.
  3. Withdrawal of vaccine from ampoule. A sterile bifurcated needle (which must be cool) is inserted into the ampoule of reconstituted vaccine. On withdrawal, a droplet of vaccine, sufficient for vaccination, is contained within the fork of the needle.
  4. Application of vaccine to the skin. The needle is held at a 90 deg angle (perpendicular) to the skin. The needle then touches the skin to release the droplet of vaccine. For both primary and revaccination, 15 up and down (perpendicular) strokes of the needle are rapidly made in the area of about 5mm in diameter (through the drop of vaccine deposited on the skin). The strokes should be sufficiently vigorous so that a trace of blood appears at the vaccination site. If a trace of blood does not appear, the strokes have not been sufficiently vigorous and the procedure should be repeated. Although it is desirable not to induce frank bleeding, the proportion of successful takes is not reduced if bleeding does occur.
  5. Dressing. No dressing should be used after vaccination.
  6. Sterilization. WHO strongly recommends the use of disposable needles.
  7. Unused vaccine. Unused, reconstituted freeze-dried vaccine should be discarded at the end of each working day.
Complications of Vaccination

Four main complications are associated with vaccination, 3 of which involve abnormal skin eruption.
  1. Eczema vaccinatum occurred in vaccinated persons or unvaccinated contacts who were suffering from or had a history of eczema. In these cases, an eruption occurred at sites on the body that were at the time affected by eczema or had previously been so. These eruptions became intensely inflamed and sometimes spread to healthy skin. Symptoms were severe. The prognosis was especially grave in infants having large areas of affected skin.
  2. Progressive vaccinia (vaccinia necrosum) occurred only in persons who suffered from an immune deficiency. In these cases the local lesion at the vaccination site failed to heal, secondary lesions sometimes appeared elsewhere on the body, and all lesions spread progressively until - as was likely - the patient died, usually 2-5 months later. As vaccination ceased in most countries prior to the emergence of HIV/AIDS, the consequences of the currently much larger pool of persons suffering from immunodeficiency were not reflected in recorded cases of progressive vaccinia.
  3. Generalized vaccinia occurred in otherwise healthy individuals and was characterized by the development, from 6-9 days after vaccination, of a generalized rash, sometimes covering the whole body. The prognosis was good.
  4. Postvaccinial encephalitis, the most serious complication, occurred in 2 main forms. The first, seen most often in infants aged < 2 years, had a violent onset, characterized by convulsions. Recovery was often incomplete, leaving the patient with cerebral impairment and paralysis. The second form, seen most often in children older than 2 years, had an abrupt onset, with fever, vomiting, headache and malaise, followed by such symptoms as loss of consciousness, amnesia, confusion, restlessness, convulsions and coma. The fatality rate was about 35%, with death usually occurring within a week. The best estimates of the frequency of these complications come from a 1968 study conducted in the United States, involving over 14 million vaccinated persons. Altogether 9 deaths occurred.
    Progressive vaccinia occurred in 11 persons, with 4 deaths.

    Eczema vaccinatum was more common, with 74 cases and no deaths. Sixty additional cases of eczema vaccinatum occurred in contacts of vaccinated persons, with 1 death.
    Generalized vaccinia occurred in 143 cases, with no deaths.
    Encephalitis was observed in 16 persons, with 4 deaths.
On the basis of this study, it was estimated that approximately 1 death per million resulted from complications following primary vaccination and 1 death per 4 million following revaccination.


Weekly Epidemiological Record (C) 2001 World Health Organization
2 NOVEMBER 2001, 76th YEAR No. 44, 2001, 76, 337-344
http://www.who.int/wer/76_27_52.html

TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 11/16/2001 1:24:19 PM PST by gaucho
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To: gaucho
....Some readers question whether smallpox can be spread by such methods as infected blankets. There is a smallpox virus Variola minor that is transmitted by inhalation, communicable for 3-7 days. There is a smallpox virus Variola major that is transmitted by inhalation and by contamination; it is communicable by the former method for 9-14 days and by the latter method for several years in a dried state.

See Ann F. Ramenofsky, Vectors of Death: The Archaeology of European Contact (Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1987):

Among Class I agents, Variola major holds a unique position. Although the virus is most frequently transmitted through droplet infection, it can survive for a number of years outside human hosts in a dried state (Downie 1967; Upham 1986). As a consequence, Variola major can be transmitted through contaminated articles such as clothing or blankets (Dixon 1962). In the nineteenth century, the U.S. Army sent contaminated blankets to Native Americans, especially Plains groups, to control the Indian problem (Stearn and Stearn 1945). [p. 148]

See also Robert L. O'Connell, Of Arms and Men: A History of War, Weapons, and Aggression (NY and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989):

Marking a milestone of sorts, certain colonists during the French and Indian Wars resorted to trading smallpox-contaminated blankets to local tribes with immediate and devastating results. While infected carcasses had long been catapulted into besieged cities, this seems to be the first time a known weakness in the immunity structure of an adversary population was deliberately exploited with a weapons response. [p. 171]

The source:http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/amherst/lord_jeff.html

2 posted on 11/16/2001 1:24:21 PM PST by monsterbunny
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To: monsterbunny
Both prior posters are members since 9/11. It is interesting that all the report is about is an update for how to treat smallpox if it shows up. it is not an alert saying there will be an outbreak, only an update on what to do, since it has been gone for quite some time. Prudent. However the headline is designed to induce fear. I have noticed a one two punch on many of these sorts of articles, first the post of a new member then a followup by another post 9/11 member. Just check it out. It seems to be a tactic to back up the first poster. Anyway, welcome to FR.
3 posted on 11/16/2001 1:24:45 PM PST by beekeeper
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To: beekeeper
The article headline is as it appeared in the WHO document, which tracks outbreak (and potential outbreaks) of diseases. I don't think the WHO wants to scare anyone since they appear use the format every month and appears more "clinical". From what I read in the article, it made me realize that Smallpox is not as communicable as some of the press would like to make us believe. I also think that someone who is infected would

a) be visibly affected and
b) perhaps be too sick to be walking around among us.

The article could cover more on treatment and relief of symptoms, but I'm sure many of those treatments are the same for other diseases.

I did join after 9/11. I'm in Tribeca, NYC and was on West St and Chambers when the North Tower came down, literally on top of me. I had never come across FR before then and find that many of the views here coincide with my own. Been a lurker for the past 6 weeks and recently joined.
4 posted on 11/16/2001 1:25:05 PM PST by gaucho
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To: gaucho
Welcome. Do not mind being proved wrong. Only an observation and obviously not universally applied.
5 posted on 11/16/2001 1:25:06 PM PST by beekeeper
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To: beekeeper
I hope you are not implying a CONSPIRACY between goucho and I.

I posted, for no other reason than to add to, or corroborate goucho's post. The post I provided, lifted directly from the website I sited, was not modified in any fashion other than to provide only the essence of what I believe is most important for you and I and everyone in this time of troubles. The post is not intended to introduce sensationalism or panic. The information I posted has been readily available for years and in this case decades. Also, FYI, my post is a cut-and-paste from an email which I have sent to several friends over the past days.

Additionally I have lurked and posted on FreeRepublic more than two years ago under a different handle (which I have long since forgotten). I don't understand how one's history with the FreeRepublic, which you introduced into the argument, has any bearing whatsoever on one's credibility or motives.

If Time-In-Grade is a factor on the FreeRepublic, as it seems to be to some, then maybe the FreeRepublic should consider a separate section of forums set aside specifically for the 'newbies'. Then the FreeRepublic Aristocracy could avoid or ignore those of us without the hard-earned and time honored credibility.

BTW, thanks for the welcome.

6 posted on 11/16/2001 1:25:21 PM PST by monsterbunny
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To: monsterbunny
Don't take offense about people being cautious about "disruptors." There is a currently a chorus on FR of people who call everyone who things the 587 crash might have been an act of terrorism a conspiracy theorist. They have such cute names as MindBender26 and PSYCHO-FREEP.
7 posted on 11/16/2001 1:42:46 PM PST by eno_
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To: gaucho
gaucho member since November 10th, 2001
 

8 posted on 11/16/2001 2:47:44 PM PST by vannrox
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To: beekeeper
POX AMERICANA -- The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775 - 82
News/Current Events Extended News News Keywords: SMALLPOX, EPIDEMIC. POX AMERICANA, WASHINGTON, GEORGE WASHINGTON, REVOLUTIONARY WAR, FENN
Source: IMdiversity.com
Published: October, 2001 Author: Elizabeth Fenn
13 comments.

The following is a review of Pox Americana by the Native American Village Staff… During the years when the Revolutionary War transformed thirteen former British colonies into a new nation, a horrifying epidemic of smallpox was transforming -- or ending -- the lives of tens of thousands of people across the American continent. This great pestilence easily surpassed the war in terms of deaths, yet because of our understandable preoccupation with the Revolution and its aftermath, it has remained virtually unknown to us. Elizabeth A. Fenn is the first historian to reveal how deeply Variola affected the outcome of ...

10146284 posted on 11/16/01 2:55 PM eastern by Sabertooth

WHO Smallpox Outbreak Alert for November
Foreign Affairs Extended News News Keywords: SMALLPOX CHICKENPOX VARIOLA
Source: Weekly Epidemiological Record
Published: 11/2/2001 Author: World Health Organization
7 comments.

SMALLPOX Weekly Epidemiological Record (C) 2001 World Health Organization 2 NOVEMBER 2001, 76th YEAR No. 44, 2001, 76, 337-344 http://www.who.int/wer/76_27_52.html Forms of the Disease There were two main forms of smallpox: variola major and variola minor. The two forms showed similar lesions. The disease followed a milder course in variola minor, which had a case-fatality rate of There were two rare forms of smallpox: haemorrhagic and malignant. In the former, invariably fatal, the rash was accompanied by haemorrhage into the mucous membranes and the skin. Malignant smallpox was characterized by lesions that did not develop to the pustular stage but ...

10143036 posted on 11/16/01 12:36 PM eastern by gaucho

U.S. Set to Retain Smallpox Stocks
News/Current Events News
Source: New York Times
Published: 11/16/01 Author: JUDITH MILLER
2 comments.

ASHINGTON, Nov. 15 — The Bush administration, reversing a course set two decades ago, has decided that the world's remaining stocks of smallpox should be retained until scientists develop new vaccines and treatments for the disease, a process that could take years if not decades. The decision, disclosed by senior administration officials, is likely to provoke criticism from international health officials who have long favored the destruction of the microbe. A succession of administrations have endorsed the goal of destroying the virus, which was eradicated as a disease in the 1970's. But some American scientists and Pentagon officials have ...

10134698 posted on 11/15/01 11:29 PM eastern by kattracks

Smallpox plan grants sweeping power
News/Current Events Extended News News Keywords: AMERICA AT WAR: SMALLPOX?
Source: Bostonherald
Published: Thursday, November 8, 2001 Author: by Michael Lasalandra
11 comments.

Smallpox plan grants sweeping power by Michael Lasalandra Thursday, November 8, 2001 Link to Bostonherald article Public health officials want to shut down roads and airports, herd people into sports stadiums and, if needed, quarantine entire cities in the event of a smallpox attack, according to a plan being forwarded to all 50 governors this week. The plan, drafted at the request of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, could give states sweeping new powers. ``In tough times you have to make tough decisions,'' said Paul Jacobsen, assistant commissioner for the state Department of Public Health, who said he received ...

10072779 posted on 11/13/01 9:59 AM eastern by Bob Evans

Smallpox Plan Grants Sweeping Power (shut roads,airports;herd people to stadiums; quarantine cities)
News/Current Events Extended News News
Source: Boston Herald via WND
Published: Thursday, November 8, 2001 Author: Michael Lasalandra
51 comments.

Public health officials want to shut down roads and airports, herd people into sports stadiums and, if needed, quarantine entire cities in the event of a smallpox attack, according to a plan being forwarded to all 50 governors this week. The plan, drafted at the request of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, could give states sweeping new powers. ``In tough times you have to make tough decisions,'' said Paul Jacobsen, assistant commissioner for the state Department of Public Health, who said he received a copy of the 50-page plan last week. ``There are times when you may have to ...

10055088 posted on 11/12/01 2:08 PM eastern by Gritty

Russian Alert of Smallpox Terror
Foreign Affairs News Keywords: SMALLPOX
Source: All News RU
Published: 12 Nov 01 Author: AllNews RU
20 comments.

We're not the only nation worried about the possibility of this happening - which gives this a slightly more ominous tone:Russian Experts Warn Of Smallpox Terror Russian scientist Lev Sandakhchiyev who heads Russia's Vektor Institute told that smallpox mass vaccination should be reintroduced to prevent new terrorist attacks, The Telegraph online news reported. Sandakhchiyev is in charge of keeping the two last smallpox virus samples in Russia. "Smallpox is a very dangerous weapon in the hands of terrorists and there is a very simple way of delivering it," said Sandakhchiyev. "All you need is a sick fanatic to arrive in ...

10050201 posted on 11/12/01 7:13 AM eastern by 11B3

Plan aims to head off outbreaks (of smallpox)
Culture/Society News
Source: Seattle Times
Published: 11-7-1
12 comments.

WASHINGTON — In the event of a bioterrorist attack using a deadly and contagious disease such as smallpox, public-health officials want to be able to close roads and airports, herd people into stadiums, and, if necessary, quarantine entire infected cities. To make that possible, 50 governors this week will receive copies of a proposed law, drafted at the behest of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, that could give states immense new power to control their populations. The proposed "model state emergency health powers act" may be months or years away from enactment by state legislatures. It ...

10014845 posted on 11/9/01 10:38 PM eastern by Magician

Bush May Order Everyone Injected With Smallpox Vaccine
Culture/Society News
Source: Rense.com
Published: 11-9-1
158 comments.

All Americans could be forced to have smallpox jabs under plans being considered by President Bush, despite fears that such a programme would kill hundreds. Underlining White House fears about America's vulnerability to a new wave of bioterrorism, Mr Bush said that he was discussing with Tommy Thompson, the Health Secretary, whether to order mandatory vaccinations. "One of my concerns is if we were to have universal vaccination, some might lose their life," he said. "But I'm looking at all options, all possibilities." Authorities in the US have already announced that they intend to stockpile 300 million doses of smallpox ...

10013258 posted on 11/9/01 8:57 PM eastern by Magician

Decades-Old Smallpox Vaccinations May Still Protect
Culture/Society News
Source: USA Today
Published: 11-8-1
20 comments.

While many Americans worry that bioterrorists will strike with smallpox before the USA has enough vaccine, studies suggest that people immunized 50 years ago or more still have some protection. Researchers also say mass immunization probably wouldn't be necessary because smallpox is not as contagious as other bugs such as measles or the flu. "It's not going to be the Armageddon that some would have you believe," says smallpox expert James LeDuc of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In some countries, smallpox was eradicated after less than two-thirds of people were immunized, LeDuc says. When it comes to ...

9992730 posted on 11/8/01 10:24 PM eastern by Magician

Decades-Old Smallpox Vaccinations May Still Protect
Culture/Society News
Source: USA Today
Published: 11-8-1
6 comments.

While many Americans worry that bioterrorists will strike with smallpox before the USA has enough vaccine, studies suggest that people immunized 50 years ago or more still have some protection. Researchers also say mass immunization probably wouldn't be necessary because smallpox is not as contagious as other bugs such as measles or the flu. "It's not going to be the Armageddon that some would have you believe," says smallpox expert James LeDuc of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In some countries, smallpox was eradicated after less than two-thirds of people were immunized, LeDuc says. When it comes to ...

9992725 posted on 11/8/01 10:23 PM eastern by Magician

Decades-old smallpox vaccinations may still protect
News/Current Events Front Page News
Source: USA Today
Published: 11/08/01 Author: Rita Rubin
58 comments.

While many Americans worry that bioterrorists will strike with smallpox before the USA has enough vaccine, studies suggest that people immunized 50 years ago or more still have some protection. Researchers also say mass immunization probably wouldn't be necessary because smallpox is not as contagious as other bugs such as measles or the flu. "It's not going to be the Armageddon that some would have you believe," says smallpox expert James LeDuc of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In some countries, smallpox was eradicated after less than two-thirds of people were immunized, LeDuc says. When it comes to ...

9973425 posted on 11/8/01 4:38 AM eastern by kattracks

HHS Set to Order Smallpox Vaccine for All Americans
Crime/Corruption News Keywords: SMALL POX VACCINE, TERRORISM
Source: Washington Post
Published: November 7, 2001 Author: Ceci Connolly
29 comments.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said yesterday that he expects to sign a contract this weekend to purchase enough smallpox vaccine for every American but that he has warned the White House the cost could be quadruple the $509 million he originally estimated -- or equivalent to the department's entire $1.9 billion bioterrorism budget.Rest of story HERE

9963586 posted on 11/7/01 2:30 PM eastern by concerned about politics

Liberals Love Smallpox (partisanship is back )( he's no Ann Coulter)
Culture/Society Editorial Keywords: LIBERALS LOVE SMALLPOX
Source: prospect
Published: 11/6/2001 Author: chris mooney
One comment.

Liberals Love Smallpox There's no doubt that, with the battle over airline security, partisanship is back in a big way. But who would have ever thought a right-wing commentator would stoop to accusing liberals of killing people who haven't died yet through a smallpox outbreak that hasn't yet happened? That's the gist of the latest Marvin Olasky column, outrageously titled "Cause of death: liberalism" and posted on the right wing clearinghouse website Townhall.com. Olasky, an academic at the University of Texas, is generally credited as the intellectual father of George W. Bush's "faith-based" thinking, and tends to be a relatively ...

9960131 posted on 11/7/01 11:40 AM eastern by TLBSHOW

Landmark Smallpox Vaccine Study Underway
Culture/Society News Keywords: SMALLPOX
Source: ScienceDaily.com
Published: 11'07-2001
One comment.

Source: University Of Rochester Medical Center (http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/) Date: Posted 11/7/2001 Landmark Smallpox Vaccine Study Underway Volunteers are lining up this week to be vaccinated against smallpox, a once routine occurrence now considered extraordinary yet necessary because of recent events. A total of 684 healthy individuals will participate in the study in an effort to increase the number of available doses from existing stocks of smallpox vaccine. Taking part are Saint Louis University, Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Maryland, and the University of Rochester Medical Center. The research study is part of an effort by the U.S. government ...

9957504 posted on 11/7/01 9:29 AM eastern by blam

Putin: Smallpox, Anthrax Supplies Safe
News/Current Events News
Source: AP
Published: 11/07/01 Author: BARRY SCHWEID
7 comments.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin declared it impossible for someone to buy or steal deadly anthrax or smallpox from his country as some suspect has already happened. ``Those materials have been guarded, were guarded in the Soviet Union, and Russia, very securely,'' Putin said in an interview in the Kremlin with Barbara Walters for ABC's ``20/20'' program. ``So I exclude that possibility. I believe this is true of anthrax and smallpox.'' The interview, conducted Monday, airs Wednesday night. The highly contagious and deadly smallpox virus was eradicated 21 years ago and is known to survive only in laboratories ...

9955772 posted on 11/7/01 6:25 AM eastern by kattracks

Federal Law Needed on Smallpox Vaccination
News/Current Events Extended News News
Source: Reuters Health
Published: November 5, 2001 Author: Todd Zwillich
87 comments.

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - Public health officials must have the authority to quarantine and forcibly vaccinate the entire population--with the help of the military if needed--in the event of a smallpox attack on the US, a bioterrorism expert said Monday. Massachusetts and other states have laws allowing authorities to force mass vaccination to stem outbreaks of smallpox or some other highly contagious disease. But the federal government has no enforceable way of guaranteeing widespread vaccination, even as it prepares to spend billions of dollars to increase vaccine stockpiles and beef up the public health infrastructure. ``You can't have a patchy ...

9947592 posted on 11/6/01 8:40 PM eastern by Zadokite

Smallpox attack would create a worldwide crisis
Foreign Affairs News Keywords: SMALLPOX, TERROR
Source: Telegraph
Published: Filed: 06/11/2001 Author: Roger Highfield
One comment.

THE use of anthrax as a bioterrorist weapon is not nearly as frightening as the threat of attacks using smallpox, said Dr Jim Matthews of Northeastern University in Boston. "Anthrax is not easily transferred, so to develop it as a weapon is difficult, and in most cases it responds quite well to antibiotics," he said. "However, what I would be more wary of is smallpox." He said smallpox was contagious and there was no tested treatment. "Even as we speak, some federal officials have reason to believe that Iraq is developing it as a biological weapon." An attack using smallpox ...

9935858 posted on 11/6/01 11:33 AM eastern by maquiladora

Warning of smallpox terror risk
Miscellaneous News Keywords: SMALLPOX
Source: telegraph.co.uk
Published: 110601 Author: Ben Aris
3 comments.

Warning of smallpox terror risk By Ben Aris in Moscow, Roger Highfield and Philip Delves Broughton in New York (Filed: 06/11/2001) THE Russian scientist in charge of one of the last known deposits of the smallpox virus called yesterday for the reintroduction of mass vaccination, saying terrorists could easily lure underpaid former Soviet researchers to turn it into a weapon. "Smallpox is a very dangerous weapon in the hands of terrorists and you don't need some clever way of delivering it," said Dr Lev Sandakhchiyev, director of Russia's Vektor Institute. The Siberian centre holds one of only two official ...

9933448 posted on 11/6/01 9:45 AM eastern by Missy35

Global Vaccine Effort Advised - Russia: Smallpox a worldwide worry
News/Current Events News
Source: Newsday
Published: November 6, 2001 Author: Jamie Talan and Liam Pleven
2 comments.

Russian scientists yesterday suggested a worldwide vaccination effort may be needed against smallpox, even as American researchers began administering a diluted dose of smallpox vaccine to 680 volunteers to see if existing supplies here can be stretched to cover the U.S. population.Dr. Sharon Frey, principal investigator of the vaccine dilution study, said the St. Louis University School of Public Health -- one of four centers involved nationwide -- gave the vaccine to six volunteers on Friday. The other three centers were to follow suit beginning yesterday.The goal, Frey said, is to test whether diluting the vaccine by five to 10 ...

9932868 posted on 11/6/01 4:35 AM eastern by sarcasm

Warning of smallpox terror risk
News/Current Events News
Source: London Telegraph
Published: 11/06/01 Author: Ben Aris in Moscow, Roger Highfield and Philip Delves Broughton in New York
6 comments.

Drudge tonite has link to London Telegraph article re smallpox. The article quotes that 140 US CDC MD's and nurses got vaccinated over the weekend to be first responder. Does the CDC have some inside information thats not available to joe public? They also quote 2 Russian's that were high up in the bio-warfare section prior to 1990 and they both recommend that we vaccinate all Americans and Russians due to the risk. These are the boys that genetically altered the virus, so they might know what they are talking about. Their fear is that the scientists in Russia are ...

9931201 posted on 11/6/01 12:43 AM eastern by veritas3

Smallpox could be unleashed, germ warfare scientists warn
Foreign Affairs News
Source: The Times (U.K.)
Published: 11/06/2001
4 comments.

FORMER Soviet germ warfare scientists, warning that rogue powers could lure underpaid Russian researchers, have called for worldwide vaccination against the smallpox virus, even though it is officially extinct. “It is a very dangerous weapon in the hands of terrorists . . . you don’t need some clever way of delivering it,” Lev Sandakhchiyev, director of Russia’s Vektor Institute, said. The institute holds one of the world’s two official samples of smallpox. “All you need is a sick fanatic to get to a populated place,” he told a news conference in Moscow. “The world health system is completely unprepared for ...

9926715 posted on 11/5/01 8:18 PM eastern by Pokey78

U.S. Sets Up Plan to Fight Smallpox
Government News
Source: NYT
Published: 11-5-01
14 comments.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are training doctors to recognize the disease and vaccinating small teams of experts. ATLANTA, Nov. 3 The government has begun taking steps to cope with the possibility of a terrorist attack involving smallpox by training doctors to recognize the disease and by vaccinating small teams of experts who would rush to any part of the country to contain and treat a suspected outbreak. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is taking the steps, say they have no evidence that anyone is readying a terrorist attack using ...

9921074 posted on 11/5/01 3:32 PM eastern by Magician

Russian germ warfare experts raise smallpox alarm
News/Current Events Extended News News
Source: Reuters
Published: 11/05/01 Author: Adam Tanner
20 comments.

MOSCOW, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Former Soviet germ warfare scientists, warning that rogue powers could lure underpaid Russian researchers, called on Monday for wide reintroduction of worldwide vaccination against the now extinct smallpox virus. "It is a very dangerous weapon in the hands of terrorists and...you don't need some clever way of delivering it," said Lev Sandakhchiyev, director of Russia's Vektor Institute, which holds one of the world's two official samples of smallpox. "All you need is a sick fanatic to get to a populated place," he told a news conference in Moscow. "The world health system is completely ...

9917072 posted on 11/5/01 12:28 PM eastern by kattracks

Is smallpox on the way? Or just media hype.
Your Opinion/Questions Editorial Keywords: SMALLPOX
Source: Freepers &amp; Me
Published: 11/5/01 Author: self
83 comments.

Does the enemy have the virus and will we see it crop up? Or is the (smarter than anyone else) media just going crazy and and hoping for an outbreak? It was the media that kept reporting the dreaded anthrax and bingo, here it is. Is the enemy getting ideas from the press? What do you think Freepers? Smallpox can kill 30% of those infected, would the enemy use such an uncertain weapon?

9915758 posted on 11/5/01 11:29 AM eastern by Wild Game

Preparing For Worst: Front-line medical workers receiving smallpox vaccine
News/Current Events News
Source: Newsday
Published: November 5, 2001
7 comments.

Washington -- Front-line medical workers are being vaccinated against smallpox, and health workers around the country are being taught about the disease thought eradicated 21 years ago, federal health officials said yesterday."We must be prepared for the use of smallpox as a bioterrorism weapon,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on CBS' "Face the Nation.”Fauci and officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the CDC has no evidence that anyone is readying a terrorist attack using smallpox, which has been eradicated outside laboratories. But CDC officials say the virus ...

9911789 posted on 11/5/01 5:45 AM eastern by sarcasm

Thinking Ahead: Should Smallpox Become Reality, What Do We Do?
Your Opinion/Questions Miscellaneous Keywords: SMALLPOX, FAMILY PREPAREDNESS, HOMEBOUND
249 comments.

There is a sizeable, cautious, but not hysterical contingent on FR that believes we may have been exposed to smallpox at some time in the last week. It's not something we know is happening. It's something we think is a reasonable scenario in light of other events. I'm starting this thread as a place to discuss what preparations our nation and communities do NOT seem to be making, and what our personal plans of action are if this CONTAGIOUS bioattack vector eclipses anthrax.

9891318 posted on 11/3/01 8:27 PM eastern by ChemistCat

U.S. Sets Up Plan to Fight Smallpox in Case of Attack
News/Current Events News Keywords: TERRORISM BIOLOGICAL WEAPON SMALLPOX
Source: New York Times
Published: November 4, 2001 Author: LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN
73 comments.

ATLANTA, Nov. 3 — The government has begun taking steps to cope with the possibility of a terrorist attack involving smallpox by training doctors to recognize the disease and by vaccinating small teams of experts who would rush to any part of the country to contain and treat a suspected outbreak. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is taking the steps, say they have no evidence that anyone is readying a terrorist attack using smallpox, a disease that was eradicated worldwide 21 years ago. But they say smallpox is so deadly that it is important to ...

9889746 posted on 11/3/01 6:49 PM eastern by samtheman

Volunteers Line Up to Test Limits of Protection Against Smallpox
News/Current Events Front Page News Keywords: SMALL POX VACCINATIONS SUPPLY
Source: New York Times
Published: November 3, 2001
19 comments.

November 3, 2001 THE VACCINE Volunteers Line Up to Test Limits of Protection Against Smallpox By THE NEW YORK TIMES ST. LOUIS, Nov. 2 — Six student volunteers became the first people to receive smallpox vaccine here today as part of a study to determine whether existing stockpiles of the vaccine can be stretched to protect more Americans from bioterrorism. "I thought this is an amazing opportunity," said Alison Hayes, a law student at Saint Louis University. "I can be vaccinated for my own protection and have the chance to help others should there be a smallpox outbreak." Ms. Hayes, ...

9881180 posted on 11/3/01 8:09 AM eastern by tallhappy

A NEW SMALLPOX VACCINE FROM ABORTIONS? SMALLPOX VACCINE TO USE FETAL CELLS
Culture/Society Extended News News Keywords: SMALLPOX VACCINE, FETAL STEM CELLS, ABORTION
Source: EWTN NEWS/ Catholic World News
Published: 11/2/01 Author: EWTN NEWS/ Catholic World News
31 comments.

2-Nov-2001 -- EWTN Pro-Family News A NEW SMALLPOX VACCINE FROM ABORTIONS? (EWTNews) - The Washington Post announced the award of a contract for the development of a new smallpox vaccine to Oravax/Acambis Corporation. The proposal presented to the CDC and FDA would encompass using "human fibroblasts." In checking the proposed ingredients through the CDC it was found that they intend to use aborted fetal cell line MRC-5 as the cell substrate for growing the virus. The CDC report also stated that other established animal substrates such as chick embryo, (used in Rabies vaccine) Vero Cell Lines and FRHL-2 Cell lines ...

9869755 posted on 11/2/01 5:14 PM eastern by proud2bRC

When a Killer Disease Held a Continent in Fear (Smallpox and the Revolutionary War Years)
Foreign Affairs Editorial Keywords: SMALLPOX, AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Source: New York Times
Published: 11/1/01 Author: Janet Maslin
3 comments.

terrifying contagious disease, the threat of biological warfare and an American population "living a life of incessant dread": Elizabeth A. Fenn's "Pox Americana" goes back to the future to examine an all-too-relevant part of our past. The American Revolution coincided with a smallpox plague that swept across North America, decimating the population and determining the course of history. From the nature of the many references on which Ms. Fenn's lively research draws, it's clear that the epidemic has generally been regarded as a footnote to the full story of the Revolutionary War. Or it has figured tangentially in accounts ...

9860808 posted on 11/2/01 11:22 AM eastern by untenured

JAMA - Smallpox as a Biological Weapon: Medical and Public Health Management
Culture/Society Extended News News Keywords: MANAGEMENT OF SMALLPOX ATTACKS
Source: Journal of the American Medical Assn.
Published: 1999 Author: see list
11 comments.

Donald A. Henderson, MD, MPH; Thomas V. Inglesby, MD; John G. Bartlett, MD; Michael S. Ascher, MD; Edward Eitzen, MD, MPH; Peter B. Jahrling, PhD; Jerome Hauer, MPH; Marcelle Layton, MD; Joseph McDade, PhD; Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH; Tara O'Toole, MD, MPH; Gerald Parker, PhD, DVM; Trish Perl, MD, MSc; Philip K. Russell, MD; Kevin Tonat, PhD; for the Working Group on Civilian Biodefense Objective  To develop consensus-based recommendations for measures to be taken by medical and public health professionals following the use of smallpox as a biological weapon against a civilian population.Participants  The working group included 21 representatives from staff ...

9743053 posted on 10/27/01 8:01 PM eastern by Anthem

The War Against Smallpox pp. 40-47 of the Coming Plague
Culture/Society Miscellaneous
Source: The Coming Plague by Leslie Garrett
Published: 1994 Author: Leslie Garrett
6 comments.

The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett Imbued with profound optimism, coupled with the post-World War II American “can do” attitude, the world’s public health community mounted two ambitious campaigns to eradicate microbes from the planet. One effort would succeed, becoming the greatest triumph of modern public health. The other (malaria) would fail so miserably that the targeted microbes would increase both in numbers and in virulence, and the Homo sapiens death toll would soar. Humanity’s great success story would be smallpox. In 1958 the Soviet Union went before the World Health Assembly—the legislative body of the World Health Organization in ...

9742879 posted on 10/27/01 7:50 PM eastern by Prodigal Daughter

'Scourge': Killing the Disease - The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox
Culture/Society Extended News News Keywords: BIOLOGICAL TERRORISM GERM WARFARE SMALLPOX ANTHRAX DISEASE PESTILENCE PLAGUE VACCINE VIRUS WEAPONS
Source: The New York Times
Published: 10/27/01 Author: Ed Regis
45 comments.

ALTHOUGH it marked an event of far greater importance to human well-being and happiness than the moon landing, the date May 8, 1980, was largely unheralded at the time and is now mostly forgotten. That was when officers of the World Health Organization certified that smallpox had been eradicated from planet Earth. It was the first, and so far the only, infectious disease to have been eliminated from nature by human effort. Before its eradication, smallpox had been one of the world's greatest killers: it had ''claimed hundreds of millions of lives,'' Jonathan B. Tucker writes in ''Scourge,'' ''far ...

9741538 posted on 10/27/01 6:20 PM eastern by ppaul

And Now, the Good News about Smallpox
News/Current Events News Keywords: SMALLPOX, IMMUNITY, BIO-WARFARE, VACCINATION
Source: Slate
Published: October 26, 2001 Author: Jon Cohen
182 comments.

And Now, the Good News About Smallpox - In the event of a terrorist attack, we're not all toast. By JonCohenBy JonCohenUpdated Friday, October 26, 2001, at 10:38 PM PT If you received a smallpox vaccine in infancy, as most everyone did in the United Statesbefore routine immunizations stopped in 1972, your immunity to this disfiguring and often lethal disease certainly has waned. Indeed, authoritative sources would have you believe that you have no immunity whatsoever. But if you dig out original scientific studies about the smallpox vaccine, a much different-and a much more optimistic-picture emerges. According to U.S. Census ...

9737445 posted on 10/27/01 1:21 PM eastern by ignatz_q

World Health Body Rules Outy Mass Smallpox Jabs
News/Current Events Front Page News
Source: Reuters
Published: 10/26/01 Author: Richard Washington
85 comments.

Friday October 26 1:31 PM ET World Health Body Rules Out Mass Smallpox Jabs By Richard Waddington GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday it remained opposed to mass inoculations for smallpox despite fears the virus could be used as a weapon of germ warfare. Smallpox, once among the world's most lethal diseases, was eradicated over 20 years ago, but the recent anthrax attacks in the United States have raised concerns it could reappear. However, the vaccine itself can have serious side effects and poses a greater health risk while there are no reported cases of ...

9718014 posted on 10/26/01 2:09 PM eastern by Freedom of Speech Wins

Smallpox and You
Your Opinion/Questions Editorial Keywords: SMALLPOX
Published: 102601 Author: Carol
47 comments.

In the past few days, some people at FR have refused to believe that their childhood smallpox vaccination is probably as worthless as a three dollar clinton bill. Theres no need to argue, or debate the facts when the world's greatest library is at our fingertips. Therefore, I will quote the CDC who is stating exactly what MD's have been saying for weeks. I will also leave behind a list from the CDC for you to enjoy. It answers many questions regarding Smallpox. -- Directly From the CDC To You: If people got the vaccination in the past when it ...

9709698 posted on 10/26/01 2:29 AM eastern by Carol-HuTex

US Starts High-Speed Smallpox Vaccine Programme
Culture/Society News Keywords: HIGH-SPEED/SMALLPOX/VACCINE
Source: New Scientist
Published: 10-25-2001 Author: Emma Young
40 comments.

US starts high-speed smallpox vaccine programme 17:50 25 October 01 Emma Young The US government has asked national drug companies to produce and speed-test new smallpox vaccines. New vaccines usually spend several years in trials but health secretary Tommy Thompson wants the process to take just one year. The US government has reportedly promised to legally indemnify manufacturers, in the event of any court cases over vaccine side-effects. Smallpox was officially declared globally eradicated in 1980, and very few people in the US were vaccinated after 1972. But military stockpiles of the virus do exist, and authorities fear it ...

9700950 posted on 10/25/01 6:21 PM eastern by blam

Smallpox Study going on in St. Louis, MO (Diluted Vaccine Study)
News/Current Events Front Page News Keywords: SMALLPOX
Source: www.kmov.com (St. Louis)
Published: 10/22/01
17 comments.

SLU conducts smallpox vaccine studyNews 4 Health Team Reporter Lisa Manzo October 22, 2001 5:53 PM Lisa Manzo (KMOV) (KMOV) -- Government health officials worry about terrorists using smallpox to attack Americans. They want to buy enough smallpox vaccine to inoculate every American. However, right now there is only enough vaccine for about 15 million Americans. St. Louis University is already conducting a smallpox vaccine study. Worried residents are scrambling for information. St. Louis University researchers are diluting the old vaccine dryvax in an attempt to make more smallpox vaccine available in case of a bio-terrorist attack. Concerned residents ...

9663669 posted on 10/24/01 5:30 AM eastern by brigette

Companies to Make Smallpox Vaccine
News/Current Events News
Source: AP
Published: 10/24/01 Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer
5 comments.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Drug companies plan to answer the government's call to make about 250 million doses of smallpox vaccine by the end of next year, but may need regulatory concessions to meet the deadline. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said Tuesday that the government's goal was to produce enough smallpox vaccine ``so every American will be assured there is a dose with their name on it if it is needed.'' Thompson asked Congress for $509 million to pay for a crash program to produce the vaccine. He said HHS sent a letter on Oct. 19 to vaccine ...

9663238 posted on 10/24/01 3:53 AM eastern by kattracks

Australian Government attempts to secure supply of smallpox vaccine
Foreign Affairs News Keywords: AUSTRALIA SMALLPOX VACCINE
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Published: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 Author: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
3 comments.

The Department of Health has confirmed the Federal Government is attempting to secure a supply of the smallpox vaccine from the United States. The Commonwealth chief medical officer, Professor Dick Smallwood, says there is no vaccine in Australia at this time. However, in the unlikely event of an outbreak, Professor Smallwood says supplies could be obtained within two days. Australia's leading expert on smallpox Professor Frank Fenner, from the Australian National University, has welcomed moves to obtain the vaccine. "I think it's a very good idea to have a stock of vaccine available for use if that unlikely event of ...

9638094 posted on 10/23/01 12:55 AM eastern by grimalkin

Antiviral Drug May Be Effective Against Smallpox
Government Front Page News Keywords: U.S. TESTING DILUTED SMALLPOX VACCINE
Source: http://www.healthfinder.gov
Published: Monday, October 22, 2001 Author: By Rita RubinUSA Today
20 comments.

Antiviral Drug May Be Effective Against Smallpox Monday, October 22, 2001 By Rita RubinUSA Today (USA TODAY) WASHINGTON -- While the government tries to ramp up production of smallpox vaccine, scientists are hopeful that an antiviral drug that is already on the market might prove to be the first effective treatment for the disease. Smallpox ranks among the most serious bioterrorism threats. Unlike anthrax, the disease is highly contagious; before it was eradicated in 1977, it killed about one in three infected individuals. Survivors are left severely disfigured with pitted scars. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has said ...

9633379 posted on 10/22/01 9:04 PM eastern by ATOMIC_PUNK

For knowledgeable types: How long would the smallpox virus remain viable in a bag of candy?
Your Opinion/Questions Miscellaneous Keywords: SMALLPOX VIRUS VIABILITY
Source: me
Published: Oct 22, 2001 Author: me
19 comments.

Hi,Earlier today someone suggested that terrorists could be putting the smallpox virus in all those bags of candy that were purchased. I was wondering, if smallpox is put in such bags, how long could it remain "viable," or able to infect someone? I'm curious b/c I wrote an article about it and I want to get it right.

9628936 posted on 10/22/01 4:59 PM eastern by proud American in Canada

Smallpox, big problem: Geoff Metcalf says practice makes perfect with germs
News/Current Events Editorial Editorial
Source: WorldNetDaily.com
Published: Monday, October 22, 2001 Author: Geoff Metcalf
24 comments.

Smallpox, big problem © 2001 WorldNetDaily.com I have been reluctant to write this, although I have discussed it on my syndicated radio program since the first anthrax announcement. The anthrax frenzy that is gripping the nation is both insignificant and most significant. How can an event be two mutually exclusive things? Here's how. By now, most Americans know more about anthrax than they ever did or may ever need to know. There are two flavors. The first, cutaneous, is easily treated and can successfully be mitigated with drugs so that the mortality rate is statistically very low. We are daily reminded ...

9617539 posted on 10/22/01 4:26 AM eastern by JohnHuang2

Sept. 11 Attacks Led to Push for More Smallpox Vaccine
News/Current Events News Keywords: SMALLPOX VACCINE
Source: New York Times
Published: 10/22/2001 Author: JUDITH MILLER and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
5 comments.

October 22, 2001 THE STRATEGY Sept. 11 Attacks Led to Push for More Smallpox Vaccine By JUDITH MILLER and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG The Associated Press American intelligence has suspected for years that some nations have been maintaining clandestine stocks of the smallpox virus. In late September, in the days before a series of anthrax-tainted letters made bioterrorism a reality in the United States, President Bush decided that the federal government should acquire enough vaccine to protect every American against an even more menacing biological threat: smallpox. Although smallpox was eradicated as a disease in the 1970's, American intelligence had suspected ...

9617394 posted on 10/22/01 3:57 AM eastern by Exigence

Info on Smallpox vaccine for freepers
News/Current Events Extended News News Keywords: SMALLPOX INFO
Source: Centers for Disease Control
Author: Bones
273 comments.

Just wanted to leave you all some info on Vaccinia vaccination. Basically, last I heard the small pox immunization was not being produced in the USA. There was a report today that DOD has ordered supplies from UK. Frankly, I don't know how the UK could be producing the vaccine. The only known stockpiles of the virus (after World Health Organization/UN announced eradication of the virus from Earth) were in the US and USSR. If a UK company is making vaccine, what is in the vaccine?The old vaccine was produced using techniques that would not be licensed or approved today. ...

9616321 posted on 10/22/01 1:33 AM eastern by bonesmccoy


9 posted on 11/16/2001 2:53:01 PM PST by vannrox
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To: gaucho
Welcome to FR... I'll cross-link your post to this:

Nuclear, Biological, & Chemical Warfare- Survival Skills, Pt. II

10 posted on 11/16/2001 3:29:30 PM PST by backhoe
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To: vannrox

And some of my favorites...




The Danger from Deliberate Disease


THE DEMON IN THE FREEZER


This is a PDF file that is the Most Comprehensive I have found on Bio-Terrorism (Awesome!)


U.S. Bombs Suspected Bio-Weapons


U.S. Called Vulnerable To Biological Attack, Smallpox Simulation Alarms Officials (Very Scary)


Unclassified 10/31: CIA Chemical, Biological, Radiological Incident Handbook


Suspect Sought Medicine for Red Hands


Saddam has germ warfare arsenal,says defecting physicist


Potential Biological Agents, Associated Infections, and Treatment


Of Germs and Geopolitics (Iraq's Frightening Bioweapons Stockpiles)


Nuclear, Biological, & Chemical Warfare- Survival Skills, Pt. II


NBC/ABC Warfare Survival Skills Links


Military learned threat of bioweapons in Cold War with secret tests on civilians


Massive number of dead Animals seen on ground in Afghanistan, as reported by Canadian Journalist


MASS CASUALTIES & BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS


Lethal pathogens handy in nations harboring terrorists


Keeping the Lid on Germ Warfare


International negotiations on germ warfare break down


GERM WARFARE The Hall of Shame


Federal Law Needed on Smallpox Vaccination



11 posted on 11/16/2001 3:33:11 PM PST by vannrox
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To: monsterbunny

12 posted on 11/16/2001 3:38:18 PM PST by vannrox
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Comment #13 Removed by Moderator
To: gaucho

Smallpox




Smallpox, because of its high case-fatality rates and transmissibility, now represents one of the most serious bioterrorist threats to the civilian population. Over the centuries, naturally occurring smallpox, with its case-fatality rate of 30 percent or more and its ability to spread in any climate and season, has been universally feared as the most devastating of all the infectious diseases.


Smallpox was once worldwide in scope; before vaccination was practiced almost everyone eventually contracted the disease. In 1980, the World Health Assembly announced that smallpox had been eradicated and recommended that all countries cease vaccination. That same year, the Soviet government embarked on an ambitious program to grow smallpox in large quantities and adapt it for use in bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles. That initiative succeeded.


Russia still possesses an industrial facility that is capable of producing tons of smallpox virus annually and also maintains a research program that is thought to be seeking to produce more virulent and contagious strains.


An aerosol release of smallpox virus would disseminate readily given its considerable stability in aerosol form and epidemiological evidence suggesting the infectious dose is very small. Even as few as 50-100 cases would likely generate widespread concern or panic and a need to invoke large-scale, perhaps national emergency control measures.


Several factors fuel the concern: the disease has historically been feared as one of the most serious of all pestilential diseases; it is physically disfiguring; it bears a 30 percent case-fatality rate; there is no treatment; it is communicable from person to person; and no one in the U.S. has been vaccinated during the past 25 years. Vaccination ceased in this country in 1972, and vaccination immunity acquired before that time has undoubtedly waned.


Smallpox spreads directly from person to person, primarily by droplet nuclei expelled from the oropharynx of the infected person or by aerosol. Natural infection occurs following implantation of the virus on the oropharyngeal or respiratory mucosa.


Contaminated clothing or bed linen could also spread the virus. Special precautions need to be taken to insure that all bedding and clothing of patients are autoclaved. Disinfectants such as hypochlorite and quaternary ammonia should be used for washing contaminated surfaces.


A smallpox outbreak poses difficult problems because of the ability of the virus to continue to spread throughout the population unless checked by vaccination and/or isolation of patients and their close contacts.


Between the time of an aerosol release of smallpox and diagnosis of the first cases, an interval of as much as two weeks is apt to occur. This is because there is an average incubation period of 12 to 14 days.


After the incubation period, the patient experiences high fever, malaise, and prostration with headache and backache. Severe abdominal pain and delirium are sometimes present. A mascopapular rash then appears, first on the mucosa of the mouth and pharynx, face and forearms, spreading to the trunk and legs. Within one or two days, the rash becomes vesicular and later pustular. The pustules are characteristically round, tense and deeply embedded in the dermis; crusts begin to form about the eighth or ninth day. When the scabs separate, pigment-free skin remains, and eventually pitted scars form.


Approximately 140,000 vials of vaccine are in storage at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each with doses for 50-60 people, and an additional 50-100 million doses are estimated to exist worldwide. This stock cannot be immediately replenished, since all vaccine production facilities were dismantled after 1980, and renewed vaccine production is estimated to require at least 24-36 months.


In 2000, CDC awarded a contract to Oravax of Cambridge, Massachusetts to produce smallpox vaccine. Initially producing 40 million doses, Oravax anticipates delivery of the first full scale production lots in 2004.


Treatment of smallpox is limited to supportive therapy and antibiotics as required for treating secondary bacterial infections. There are no proven antiviral agents effective in treating smallpox.


Recommendations of the Working Group include testing and ultimate consideration for FDA approval of a vaccinia strain grown in tissue culture rather than on calves, finding a rapid diagnostic test for smallpox virus in the asymptomatic early stages, and developing a more attenuated strain of vaccine



14 posted on 11/16/2001 5:40:19 PM PST by vannrox
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