Posted on 01/07/2008 2:24:08 PM PST by blam
Whatever Happened To... Smallpox?
Humanity stomps nature but is still vulnerable to humanity.
by Stephen Ornes
Once the most feared disease on the planet, smallpox killed countless people in the course of human history. The first signs of smallpox are fever and aches. Then come the disfiguring pustules, often followed by death. But there hasn’t been a case in nearly 30 years. In 1979, after an aggressive 12-year campaign of vaccination, the World Health Organization declared human beings smallpox-free. William Foege, who worked on the effort and is now a senior fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, says smallpox is still the only disease that humans have ever managed to vanquish.
Crude versions of a smallpox vaccine were first described in the 18th century, and by the 19th century, vaccination had become widespread—and in some countries, compulsory. “The speed with which smallpox disappeared was breathtaking,” Foege says.
Smallpox hasn’t vanished entirely, however. At least two laboratories—the CDC in Atlanta and one in Moscow—keep the virus alive, and the last known case, in 1978, arose from a lab accident in Birmingham, England. Although the manufacture of smallpox vaccine for the general public was suspended in 1982, production resumed when security analysts realized that smallpox would be a choice weapon for bioterrorists. In 2002, President George W. Bush claimed that the United States had stockpiled enough smallpox vaccine to protect the entire country.
If smallpox does reappear, “scientifically, we know how to stop outbreaks,” Foege says. “My concern would be the social chaos of people who are trying to get in line for vaccinations.”
It has largely been replaced by Income Tax, as it has similar symptoms and effects.
give the rats the open border and we’ll see what happens when it comes back
Except that there’s no known vaccination against Income Tax.
An Evil Capitalistic, Horned Devil found the cure for it. *hint* it was not the Middle East... /src
The scary part is the possibility of a slightly genetically altered version being released. Just enough so the vaccine we have doesn’t work.
That would take a fair amount of research that would require the use of human subjects to ensure that the altered virus was infectous and not affected by the vaccine.
True enough. There are countries out there with the resources to do it, though. Notably thinking of China.
I don’t think they’d be nuts enough to use it, but the jihadis certainly would. Luckily, they’re unlikely to have the capability to develop such a weapon.
BTW, I hope those labs are well guarded!
True enough. There are countries out there with the resources to do it, though. Notably thinking of China.
I don’t think they’d be nuts enough to use it, but the jihadis certainly would. Luckily, they’re unlikely to have the capability to develop such a weapon.
BTW, I hope those labs are well guarded!
Tons of weaponised smallpox are missing from the former Soviet Union. That stuff is reported to go through vaccinations like a .308 round through a plum. Additionally- vaccinations, like we all had when we were kids, wear off.
The Demon in the Freezer
(FR Review and thread)
Pleasant dreams.
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