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
i don't think it'll be any more dangerous for the little ones this year
than earlier years... as my better half pointed out, even if you
take the kids candy away and replace it with some from the supermarket, how
would you know that you didn't buy some "bad" candy?
as always, i'll walk my small ones through the neighborhood, to the houses
of folks i know... and for the rest of it... can't do much. pray, stay vigilant.
i think if they mess with our kids, it's gonna get very un-pc out.
shoot straight. shoot safe. practice. carry. glock rocks
At times like this I'm glad we home school...
...but, unless I shut down my podiatry practice and move to the hills to a safe house fully outfitted with a couple months supply, and stay 100% quarantined away from society, we're going to be exposed. I'm not planning on running to the hills.
However, if anyone threatens my children they will meet my friends, H & K:
It will be the SNEAKY crap you should all be obsessing over (if you don't have a life and want to waste your time obsessing)...like the gasoline pump handles, patriotic t-shirts hanging on a rack in a large public mall on sale for 50% off(no woman can avoid that!), potatoes lying in a grocery store...get real, the terrorists have another slew of victims....all of you obsessing over a pagan ritual begging for candy...
I guess the "Only thing to fear is fear itself" is wasted on a whole lot of you...
AND let's face facts...just the WHOLE sneakiness of this EVENT has caused more hullabahoo then any poisoning so far...sheesh people...get a grip!
mmmmm. h&k. good for you, Doctor.
i see we are of a similar mind on this.
SHEEEEESH indeed.
1. Day Care Centers.
2. Day Care Centers.
3. Day Care Centers.
:-(
Oh, that makes me feel better. The wonderful Eff Bee Eye. Who will be passing out the tainted candy--Lon Horiuchi?
If you infect enough children, they'll be back at school and highly contagious for two weeks before the disease manifests. Smallpox would roar through the unvaccinated kids in our schools like a forest fire.
And those of us with older vaccinations would not necessarily be immune.
No, dogs, cats or birds cannot spread small pox. It is strictly a human disease.
Thank you. I'm all set then.
Not quite right. Smallpox is not contagious until a rash appears. This is 24-48 hours after the onset of fever, abdominal pain, etc. You are pretty sick before you are contagious.
I am a parent and I can verify that lots of sick, feverish kids get sent to school because no one is home to care for them. Smallpox would spread faster than wildfire.
And those of us with older vaccinations would not necessarily be immune
Booster shots are recommended every 10 years. Us old folks might have a little protection, but don’t count on it. (I got my vaccination, but I guess that I missed out on the boosters.)
Smallpox (Variola Virus) is a lethal infection caused by the variola virus which has at least two strains, variola major and variola minor. Cases of smallpox date back over 2000 years, and is the oldest-known human pathogen. Conquistadors brought the disease from Spain during the 1700s and it was transmitted to tha American Indians, which wiped out over 90% of the population over the next 100 years. It is believed that Ramses V, the Egyptian pharaoh who died in 1157 B.C., may have had pock marks on his mummified face. Naturally occuring smallpox was declared erdicated from the earth in 1980 by the World Health Organization (WHO), a branch of the U.N. The last reported case in the world occured in Somalia in 1977. Two laboratories in the world still hold the last-known stocks of variola virus: the CDC in Atlanta, and VECTOR in Novizbersk, Russia. Clandestine stocks could exsist in other parts of the world, but are as yet unknown. If they do exsist, smallpox could come into the hands of terrorists and be used as a biological weapon.
Vaccination of civilians in the U.S. was discontinued in the early 1980s, although some military forces vaccinated until 1989 may still retain some immunity. Children, who are no longer vaccinated, would be at great risk from exposure to smallpox. The Japanese government considered using smallpox as a biological weapon during World War II and the virus has been considered a threat to U.S. military forces for many years. Monkeypox and cowpox are closely related to variola and might be genetically manipulated to produce a smallpox-like virus.
Once exposure to the smallpox virus occurs, the incubation period is approximately 12 days. Those who may have contacted exposed persons are quarantined for a minimum of 16 to 17 days following the exposure. Symptoms of smallpox include malaise, fever, rigors, vomiting, headache, and backache, and about 15% of the patients develop delirium (hallucinations). In approximately 2 to 3 days, an enanthem develops concomitantly with a particular rash on the face, hands, and forearms. This is followed by eruptions on the lower extremities and the trunk of the body, which occur over a week's time. Lesions progress from discolored spots flush with the surface of the skin to raised spots on the skin, and finally to an inflamed swelling containing pus on the skin (skin blisters). Lesions are more abundant on the extremities and face, which is important in the diagnosis of the disease. Within 8 to 14 days, scabs form on the skin blisters. Once the scab falls off, a discolored depression is left behind. As long as the scabs are in place the patient is considered contagious and should be isolated.
This is scary, folks. Some people are taking this smallpox threat too lightly. Better to be safe than sorry.
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