Is smallpox on the way? Or just media hype.

Freepers & Me | 11/5/01 | self

[scottiewottie]

Smallpox is highly contagious...If ONE person in the U.S. has smallpox, the result will be a GLOBAL epidemic.

This is just cheese. No common sense to it at all. Tens of thousands could be aspirated with smallpox and we would still not have a global epidemic.

If there were truth to the claim, even the vaccine should be avoided. If 100 million are given the vaccine, at least 10,000 will die or have long lasting side effects. A few thousand will actually contract smallpox or worse. ONE person could threaten us all is just too rich!

[Physicist]

I personally would be surprised if Russia had the wherewithal to vaccinate very many people right now. Look at the trouble they are having controlling tuberculosis.

If there's a worldwide outbreak, my expectation is that Russia is deeply screwed.

[editor-surveyor]

"It's tinfoil"

The use of the term "tinfoil" which is always indicative of a lack of facts upon which to base an argument, clearly marks one as a member of the Ostrich Club.

If smallpox has been erradicated as was trumped by so many headlines, how is this 'tinfoil' ???

[Caipirabob]

I think it's within consideration to believe that this attack would be primarily targetted at our children. It's also within consideration that for every child who'd fall victim to such an attack, there would be two American fanatics created who would do anything to ensure the annihilation of the enemy. It's also within consideration that in America, high school students have been known to turn in perfectly functionality nuclear weapons created at home (sans the active ingredient) in for science projects. It's feasable that people who have suddenly beeen turned to fanaticism, who are far more wealthy in resources than any other people in the world and suddenly devoted themselves to the absolute destruction of a given enemy might bring about a far worse terror than anything OBL could come up with.

[editor-surveyor]

"or some scientist in GA decided to sell-out to terrorists long ago"

That would seem to be the least likely scenario.

While some of the people doing this kind of research are not of the highest character (Fauci, and Gallo, for example) the kind of larceny they are prone to is more along the line of 'Glory-hounding' rather than negating their life's work through selling out to some seedy character for what to them would be a paltry sum.

[shezza]

we were told that there were only two cultures, one in the U.S. and one in Russia.

A bio-terrorism "expert" said several weeks ago that it is believed 4 states have smallpox and may have been developing it to be used as a weapon: U.S., Russia, North Korea (yikes!), and Iraq. Maybe even Iran, Libya and Syria (thanks to far-flung Soviet scientists). Not a happy thought. For future late-night reading, try this little gem: Biological Weapons .

[tberry]

Smallpox worries me more than all the others.

Anthrax needs spores to be broadcast which isn't easy over a large population.

Bubonic Plague need fleas and rats as carriers for wide spread infection.

All Smallpox needs is two people to be in the same close proximity and infection can spread from person to person before anyone knows it.

[shezza]

How did Russia get their culture, and why?

The story I read indicated the Russians were veeeeeerrrrrry interested whenever there appeared an outbreak anywhere in the world and were practically the first ones on hand to "help." Their experts took samples back home to study (and exploit), paying particular attention to a strain that struck a village in India. It's virulity rate was more along the lines of 80% mortality, versus the traditional 10-30% mortality rate. They chose that strain to weaponize because of its potency. They even experimented with a mixture of ebola and smallpox, a particularly lethal combination. Does it surprise you to know that so many brilliant and highly educated people devote their entire lives to finding increasingly horrible ways to get rid of Americans? It did me.

[editor-surveyor]

" It's virulity rate was more along the lines of 80% mortality..."

In India, all diseases seem to have high mortality rates, due to their over-all poor health and nutrition (likely stemming from their abysmal spiritual condition)

[EternalHope]

By the time someone is infectious, they are covered with sores and may be too weak to walk.

Not so, sad to say. A person is infectious before they even know they have it. Experts consider it the worst biological threat we face, and we are unprepared.

If we get hit, it would almost certainly spread worldwide. Would that stop Bin Laden?

[motexva]

Actually, even a cursory glance at smallpox resources on the net shows that people aren't contagious until the rash starts, but it's sort of a tossup of whether they would be moving around or not. Someone in the throes of smallpox is fairly identifiable, and therefore easier to avoid.

All this goes out the window if they figured out a way to aerosolize the virus and infect hundreds or thousands of people all at once.

[Movemout]

I agree with some of the other posters. The chances of a release boomeranging on the releaser's nation are great. The people with the capability to develop vaccine fast enough to have an effect of slowing the spread of the epidemic and effectively implement quarantines are largely the western nations. Smallpox would eat through Islam with a vengeance, not to mention what would happen, via military retaliation, to the nation that sponsored the release.

[CathyRyan]

Could someone with partial immunity, a person who has been vaccinated, be infected and yet not so sick as to be noticed? There seem to be a lot of unknowns about smallpox.

[BellStar]

Is the enemy getting ideas from the press?

Is the press getting ideas from the enemy? Is the press the enemy? Hmmm!

[KSCITYBOY]

Repeat after me - It's all about ratings - Anthrax was starting to wane so they needed some new terror to draw viewers. Enter Smallpox. Our government is right to get the vaccines, but I think even with the amount of vaccine we have we could probably isolate a outbreak fairly well. I was pissed however when I see the media reporting on TV that we only have X amount of vaccine availabe until the new orders are filled which will take X amount of time. In other words hey terrorists attack now while you can still kill some Americans. If the terrorist used smallpox my guess would be that many more moslems would die from a back contamination that Americans. We can get the vaccine before they ever could. It would be a doomsday weapon for them.

[finnman69]

If this crap broke out I'm not leaving my home. Canned goods, and boiled water.

[RBurke]

Let's put it this way.. Russia has samples of it,and Iraq bought some from them (as evidenced by their head Bio scientest testimony after he defected to the US).

We know that Hussein and Bin Laden like to team up for terrorism. The question isnt do they have it-- the question is--Did Hussein pass any to Al Queda, and did any terrorist succesfully get it into this country?

[piasa]

Smallpox was a worldwide problem- it started in Egypt, I believe, and spread from Egypt to Greece, from Greece to the Roman Empire, from Rome to the rest of the ancient world, along the caravan trails to India and China and Southeast Asia, from Spain and Portugal to the rest of Africa, Central and South America and the Carribean, from England to what would become the US and Canada, etc. In short, everyone had access to it. The Soviets had access to it earlier than we did.

While the World Health Org declared it 'abolished worldwide' some years ago, there have been reports of it in obscure locales, but it was limited in its spread since by then most people have been vaccinated and it wasn't transmitted as readily as it would be if there were plenty of nonimmunized people to carry it.

[RBurke]

Chances are that if Osama decided to use a weapon of smallpox, his people would end up dying from it as well.

Very true, but remember that Bin Laden thinks death while fighting/killing "infidels" is not only acceptable, but preferable.

I think he knows that we are better equipped to treat smallpox than his country is, and it would only hurt his interests.

Yes we are better equiped to handle it--but that wont stop Bin Laden's madness--Look at the men who run to join the Taliban armed with only swords? Does this seem rational to you? Did it stop them to think we are better equiped?

Also, maybe he is worried we will use nukes if a smallpox outbreak ensued.

I wish, but I seriously doubt it. Read some of Bin Ladens terrorism manuals and speechs--He already stated this is WW3 and their goal is an Islamic world. They expect us to use whatever we have.

[tallhappy]

Does the enemy have the virus and will we see it crop up?

The answer is we don't know and it is possible.

Small pox is such a serious threat that preparing for it is not hype.