Thinking Ahead: Should Smallpox Become Reality, What Do We Do?

[ChemistCat]

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.

[norraad]

My mask is internal, good ol'garlic, lot's of it!

Garlic & oil of oregano are the only broad spec. anti-bacteria/viral going that the little devils can't change to avoid{big problem w/drug co. products}.

Check you history{medical anthropology}, it works!

They never tell you though, no money in that.

[vetvetdoug]

I am going to have my family milk as many cows infected with Vaccinia virus as they can if the government and the vaccine makers can't come up with enough doses to protect them.

[monkeywrench]

"You say you will want revenge...who will deliver it to whom and with whose resouces?"' Haven't you heard, ttthe American tax payer has a bottomless purse? They may decide they actually want to be the ones to benefit from it for once. Revenge? Gratification is more like it! Why not? We've been accused of it from every third word hell hole, anyway.

[dalebert]

Build up your immune system and you might survive smallpox without a shot. One expert said vitamin c,e,a and selliniam would help fend off several things.

[ChemistCat]

Yeah. Everything you said is true. But if smallpox is already incubating in our population, we can only deal with what IS, not what will be next summer, or what habits we WISH our government had concerning epidemics.

STDs are so hard to catch they require very specific, risky behavior to spread them. There's no excuse for the spread of AIDs; PC government is to blame.

[monkeywrench]

"Do I sense some wishful thinking" and furthermore, you haven't been here long enough to sense much of anything about anybody!

[FITZ]

Among the things that I found out there, was that Smallpox only has about a 30% mortality rate.

That wouldn't mean you'd ONLY lose just one of your kids if you have 3 kids, some families might not lose any but others will lose all their kids. Death isn't the only problem with this disease, the survivors are often left blind and all are left with terrible disfiguring scars.

[Sunshine55]

It's called reality, my friend. In a matter of weeks, it could be you.

[harrier13]

That's a good plan,Riley.I think I'll do that,go on a camping trip and risk being eaten by a bear.

[Paleo Conservative]

If there were a shortage of vaccine for the US population, there is a way to increase the available supply before more vaccine could be manufactured. It is possible to get a secondary immunization from someone who has been vaccinated and the vaccine has taken. The scabs from the vaccine scar can be used to vaccinate others. This method was used to transfer vaccina from Europe to South America in the early 19th century. A group of orphans was put on a ship with one of them recently vaccinated. As when one child would start to heal from vaccination, another child would be given a vaccination from the arm of the previous child. The process of tranferring from arm to arm continued while they crossed the Atlantic. Then the arm to arm method was used to vaccinate populations in South America. The arm to arm method also was used by the Confederacy during the Civil War, but it also caused an outbreak of syphillis.

A really good book that discusses the history of smallpox, its eradication, and potential use for biowarfare and terrorism is Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox by Jonathan B. Tucker. It just came out in August.

[FITZ]

There will be enough for the entire nation by next summer.

That does no good if the small pox has already been released. Next summer is far too late and the survivors won't need the vaccine because they'll have immunity as well as many deep scars.

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

Yeah, I've heard that. I wonder though... will the garlic drive off the women as well as Smallpox? I think garlic may only be reasonable for you married folk out there. Me, well I need all the help I can get so garlic may be out...

[ChemistCat]

I'm sorry I offended you with the pictures. I'm offended by what was done to us 9/11, and I'm offended that anybody out there would even consider giving our babies anthrax, smallpox, or whatever further travesties they have planned for us. MYSELF, I want to be able to recognize this and I want information about how to treat it if my family gets hit just as our medical infrastructure collapses under an epidemic. But if you don't like the information, please don't click on threads about smallpox.

[ChadsDad]

However, the "just go buy a car" crowd could really get a lot of people killed. If this happens, I'm afraid that people won't take it seriously enough

I fully endorse anyone buying a car!

[Artist]

And Now, the Good News about Smallpox

[harrier13]

You missed my point.

[FITZ]

It is possible to get a secondary immunization from someone who has been vaccinated and the vaccine has taken. The scabs from the vaccine scar can be used to vaccinate others.

That's my plan. My kids will be vaccinated.

[harrier13]

Well,you have a point there.