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
After this information, my wife is asking all the families to bring home made goodies.
At least I had Doxycycline and amoxicillin for anthrax.
I can't even get my hands on the smallpox vaccine for my family, even as a doctor.
Honestly, this has me rattled. But if an attack occurs by any vector, there's little we can do to stop it's spread.
That is why the vast majority of my preparation with and for my family is and always has been spiritual.
Amen, brother.
NEW YORK (AP) - In the highly profitable pharmaceutical business, vaccines have long been the low-rent cousin - never matching the profits or prominence of medicines.
That has changed significantly since Sept. 11. Now vaccines have got the attention, but it's unclear if dollars will follow.
New fears of bio-terrorism have led the government to announce it wants to purchase 300 million doses of smallpox vaccine, enough to inoculate every American against the deadly disease.
Many drug makers have shied away from making vaccines in the past; vaccines can be as costly as drugs to develop, but don't offer the same returns.
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was seeking a firm to manufacture smallpox vaccine last year, it was spurned by major drug companies, and the $343 million contract for 40 million doses fell to a previously obscure British firm, Acambis.
Now more drug companies are offering their services, and the government said it would spend $509 million on additional doses. But that's hardly a windfall in an industry where sales are expected to reach $178 billion this year, according estimates by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
The United States has 15 million doses of smallpox vaccine, and has ordered an additional 14 million from Acambis, on top of the original 40 million. The company now expects to have its first doses ready by 2002, two years earlier than originally planned.
But experts say much more is needed. In the wake of recent anthrax cases, concerns have grown about security at the Russian lab that has one of the two remaining smallpox virus samples.
"We couldn't contain an outbreak" said GiGi Kwik, a fellow at the John Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies.
A smallpox epidemic would be much worse than an anthrax outbreak, because smallpox is contagious and more deadly than anthrax. Roughly 30 percent of those who contract smallpox die. A large portion of the U.S. population has never been vaccinated and no one knows if those inoculated have retained their immunity.
Smallpox vaccination stopped in the United States in 1972, and the disease was eradicated by 1980. That meant many major pharmaceutical companies stopped producing the vaccine because it wasn't considered a major public health threat, and no market was foreseen.
Other factors also kept drug companies from making vaccines for smallpox or other bio-terrorist threats such as Ebola.
Lehman Brothers analyst Tony Butler estimates the gross margin on a drug is about 90 percent compared to 70 percent to 80 percent for a vaccine. Drugs also generate more sales - medicines are often taken two and three times daily for years. Vaccines are typically given one to five times over a lifetime.
Butler said it's difficult for vaccine developers to choose promising candidates. Companies must determine if the demand for a vaccine is great enough, or if the affected population could afford the treatment. The same is true for drugs, but medicines are given to sick people while vaccines are given to healthy people.
"You know who should get a cancer drug, but who should really get the vaccine?" asked Butler.
In addition, vaccines can have side effects that pose risk of litigation. Experts say if healthy people get sick after taking a vaccine they are much more likely to win juror sympathy than a sick person developing complications from a drug.
Lawsuits by parents who assert their children were hurt by vaccines were so widespread that in 1988 the government set up the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program to handle the complaints.
"When an individual is sick and seeks treatment there is a certain amount of risk associated with the treatment. The risk assessment is totally different with a healthy person," said Dr. Adel Mahmoud, president of Merck & Co.'s vaccine division.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is working on a massive bioterrorism package worth $5 billion to $10 billion. That includes money to hasten vaccine production and ease antitrust restrictions for drug companies.
"There is just so much to do," said Kwik. "There was not a real interest in this because there was no market. My impression is that the drug companies don't do anything unless there is a profit."
But others have a more optimistic view. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that the government could have enough vaccine for everyone in the nation within six to 12 months.
Should the "candy" situation be as bad as you seem to believe, my thoughts will be the last thing that upsets you.
My reference to the above has been interpreted in a way unintended by myself.
I was stating.....we can tremble with fear at the drop of a hat, or we can look at, read, listen and evaluate this situation as we do all others affecting our lives and make a rational decision on what action to take.
If we are to live life free and to the fullest, we must face certain realities, for instance....travelling by automobile is the most dangerous way one can move about. Do we worry when we get in the car?
I hope you get my drift.
Re:" I don't see many doctors putting their names and reputations on the line here in an effort to alert people of a serious threat."
Doctors, lawyers, politicians are all human and subject to the same afflictions of we "common folk" . That's a moot point.
Thanks for the Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie (AFDB) instructions. Great job.
Is it patented?
I like it! I hope you're right. :)
Stay well - Stay safe- Stay armed - Yorktown
You're pissing up the wrong rope. Take your sick message to the FBI, since they are taking this situation seriously.
"So, rather than getting hysterical, let your kids go out and enjoy Halloween!"
Your bogus accusation of "hysteria" is countered with a mega-dose of contempt -- and, a suggestion that since cars, trucks, and busses are fantastic devices that make a comfortable, modern life possible, you put your money where your mouth is. Rather than getting hysterical, let your kids go play in the traffic.
How dare you try to shame people into playing Arab Roulette with their children's lives. How f'n dare you.
And, they can't account for the whereabouts of $80,000 worth of candy.
I've seen wheels-a-spinnning on several threads over this semantic impasse.
Guess it burns calories.
From my understanding after hearing a health expert on Fox last week or so, the vaccinations any of us received prior to the 80's was only good for approximately 12 years. He specifically said that they expect none of them to be good anymore.
Thanks for any info you might have!
Why don't you check your pediatric records?
Check this excellent FReeper thread for more info.
I have my mother checking records for me -- actually, I'm just curious at this point... my hubby has the scar and I don't, yet I kinda sorta remember receiving a 2nd smallpox vac in the early 70's and the nurse commenting on my previous one. I think we were re-vaccinated because we were moving overseas. (Dad was a KC-135 pilot so we moved a lot.) Also had to get a cholera shot - and that was awful! Very painful...
Thanks again!
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