One terrorist with deadly disease 'could cause deaths of millions'

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 2/2/04 | Robert Uhlig

[bonesmccoy]

that would be good, but the reality is that it would do little.

SARS already shows us the problems created when people are travelling with illnesses from one nation to another.

[FairOpinion]

I think the manufacturers probably had to sign an agreement to only sell it to the government.

But considering that for many years the vaccine was mandatory, there really is no good reason for not making it available, so those who want it, can get it, on a voluntary basis.

[Free Vulcan]

The UK Telegraph trying to create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Wonder if this could be done in Gaza. Go to one of those Hamas rallies, drop a vial of the stuff on the ground and get out quick.

I am kidding... stop it.

[tracer]

Pressurized cabin air could be drawn into the combustion chambers through small vents, exposed therein to temperatures that would incinerate viruses, etc., and be bled off in the same volume into a chamber wherein it would be cooled by means of the sub-zero enviroment that exists in the atmosphere at the altitudes at which flight occurs.

We're talking about a quantity of air (equivalent to a portion of the cabin air contimuoussly being drawn from the cabin at a given time) that would be miniscule in comparison to the tremendous volumes of air taken into the aforementioned combustion chambers in a single second.

The system essentially would be closed and would be controlled by valves, one-way and otherwise; sensors; etc. The efficiency of the aircraft's engines would be virtually unaffected while the microbial content of cabin air at any given point in time would be minimal.

For even the most virulent of infections, multiplicity of infection -- i.e., the number of bugs that enter the body of a potential host during exposure to an etiologic agent-- is critical re: whether one becomes "exposed" to the extent that the pathogens in question can multiply at all or beyond the capacity of an individual's specific and non-specific immune respionses to successfully address.

Indeed, the small volume of air expelled during one or many sneezes and coughs by an individual infected with smallpox, ebola, etc. would be drawn immediately and ++without fanfare under negative pressure into vents above and below each seat and other areas of a fully-laden aircraft and subsequently submitted to incineration as described in the foregoing.

Granted, I'm only a fifty-year-old-plus. doctoral-level microbiologist, but at present have a few of my Gyro Gearloose-type engineering friends working up a small working prototype for the purposes of submitting a patent in the very near future.

Hopefully you can "read all about it" and benefit therefrom someday soon. Sleep well, and happy trails to us all...

[bonesmccoy]

pretty cool!

Better work out the energy required to power your laminar flow system.... airlines have enough overhead in maintenance to have additional vents and ducting to worry about.

Still, it's a valuable idea and has merit.

[tracer]

Thanks. It should be pretty much self-sustaining. I'll leave it to the engineers. A neat trick would be to incorporate the ventilation systems already in place on airliners.

Biowarfare aside, it might improve the quality of cabin air in general -- I always get a cold when I first travel by air after a period of staying put.....

[Doc Savage]

Excuse me. Headline should read:

"One Liberal Socialist as US President could lead to death of 300 Million people!"

[js1138]

I was thinking of Twelve Monkeys, then of the original movie, "le jette". A google search brought this up.

[fso301]

Potentially the biggest threat in these circumstances would be a terrorist infected with smallpox.

By the time a persons smallpox is contagious, they will be covered with festering blisters and will be in a near bedridden state.

[kimosabe31]

Comforting. What ever happened to the US smallpox immunization program that got underway after 911??

[MarMema]

They also missed on the major flu strain

They seem to be missing on that one more often recently.

[MarMema]

We desperately need to have cowpox in this country again.

[Smokin' Joe]

It would possibly save the Gov't a fortune (and taxpayers) to let people obtain vaccinations at their discretion and expense now. It would also cut down on the logistical problems of attempting mass vaccinations in a panic situation.

[FairOpinion]

"It would possibly save the Gov't a fortune (and taxpayers) to let people obtain vaccinations at their discretion and expense now. It would also cut down on the logistical problems of attempting mass vaccinations in a panic situation."

I agree completely. I think the government should not PREVENT us from making the decision for ourselves, which is exactly what they are doing now.