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.

[GOPJ]

One of the reason so many died from smallpox was the pox would get infected. Buy some antibiotic cream. Something that didn't exist last time smallpox was a problem. Also, the folks with the old vaccinations should hold off getting one (as theirs might still be effective and let the young get vaccinated with what we have.

Waiting for an outbreak is stupid. This stuff will spread across the country in about 18 days.

[TLBSHOW]

It might start out as smallpox maybe but that isn't what is coming from my study of this subject

www.blackpox.org is coming soon!

[Old Student]

The primary purpose of this thread is not to discuss what should be done to the perpetrators, if they exist, but what we can do to protect ourselves and our families. One of the problems we face is that there hasn't been a case of smallpox since 1972, as far as I'm aware. All modern antiviral treatments have been developed since then. There is no way to test them until there are victims to test them on. Also, they are expensive and have side effects, and can't be used on our most vulnerable populations, the very young, and very old. See the JAMA article referenced earlier about Smallpox as a bioweapon. With a little luck, and God's blessing, we'll never need to try.

One thing I suppose I should note, is that most of the precautions we are talking about (I should also note that ChemistCat is my wife) are things we do every day because of our religious beliefs. We are LDS, or Mormons. We maintain stocks of food and water, and are trying to get out of debt. Things like that. We are not advocating moving into the boonies and setting up a fortified camp. We talk to our neighbors about the sort of thing we are talking to you all about. Most of these used to be considered common sense in our country. Every house had at least a few dozen jars of canned foods, a small garden, and maybe some edible livestock. When I retired from the Air Force a few years ago, the food storage meant I did not have to find a job the same day I retired. (I needed one soon, but I had a little breathing space.)

I work as a teacher's aide at a nearby high school. We have already planned that If one of my students exhibits symptoms, I won't be coming home until MUCH later. However, If one of my own children is exposed at their school, I will be staying with them, as I've been immunized 2 or 3 times, and am more likely to have some immunity than my Frau. That will probably not be enough, but it is all we have at the moment.

As for the WMD for WMD rule, I believe that is a presidential Executive Order, too. We don't HAVE to do it, but we retain the right to do so. Problem is, we need to know where to set it off... Russia and China, not to mention Britain and France,at least, would likely get a little jumpy if we just started launching them at random, don't you think? I suspect that if the worst happens, and we can identify the perps, we won't be the only ones launching on them.

Fatima, you're welcome. Folks like you and BJC are why this thread was started. In the military we do what they call contingency planning. We have plans for what to do in case: little green men land and are friendly; little green men land and are not friendly; bad guys turn loose biowar weapons; and so on for shelves and shelves of plans. We also know that no plan survives contact with the enemy (or reality, if you care to phrase it that way.)But improvised responses are best if they have been planned thoroughly in advance.

[Old Student]

Not really is, but may be. We MAY have already come under attack with smallpox. If so, (and assuming Halloween was the day) the earliest we'd know about will be Nov. 7th or so, and if Nov. 21 comes along with no cases, we probably were NOT, at least on that date.

Depending on which sources you read, there is some argument about when smallpox becomes contaigous; before symptoms appear, or after. After would be better. Before is way bad.

As far as I'm aware, there is no reaction to rexposure by the old vaccination site. Ask your doctor, he may know otherwise. (and we may either of us be wrong in any case.)

The basic assumption here is: If it did happen, what would you do about it? Some time to think about it in advance will give you a better chance of doing the right thing if it becomes necessary. Contingency planning.

[fatima]

I have learned very much from you and your wife and all fellow freepers.Prayers for all families that this does not happen.The absent of good is evil.

[Whey]

Several people have stated that their vaccination never "took". Meaning they have no visable scar. This could mean two things. One, the vaccine was not strong enough (dead) or, Two, you are naturally immune.

I have been vaccinated three times, maybe four. Never did get a scar. My Mom is the same way. I must have inherited her immunity.

[backhoe]

I *did* send you this link, didn't I?

Nuclear, Biological, & Chemical Warfare- Survival Skills, Pt. II

[timestax]

bttt

[Gimlet]

It was a question only. And BTW - you have no idea how long I have been here.

[Gimlet]

There are strains off flu not so easily dealt with. The so-called Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 -1919 killed 40 million. The symptoms came on fast and were unlike the kinds of flu most of us are familiar with.

[cgbg]

Your pregnant daughter is very smart to think ahead.

If we wait for the government to figure out we have a contagious disease and then decide they actually want to share that information with us peons it will be too late for a whole lot of folks.

[dalebert]

Sorry I might have spelled it wrong. My mom takes it. She is a vita-nut. I have taken it but forget why. Maybe to prevent flu. I think I got this info from FOX. A russian scientist who now lives here was the one that suggested that building up the immune system was a good idea and then he named c,e,a,and sellenium(?). My mom takes tons of this stuff and looks and acts like a teenager but can't remember what she had for breakfast. She tells me she is working on it. Ha!

[FITZ]

But improvised responses are best if they have been planned thoroughly in advance.

I've started building up my food supplies and have all my camping equipment ready to pack up in just a few minutes just in case. It helps not to panic or over-react but to have some kind of game-plan. Just like the people in the WTC who immediately headed down the stairs and got out in time.

[thathamiltonwoman]

I'm not worried. I was vacinated and so was my husband. I assume that at best, we only need a booster shot.

[ChemistCat]

There aren't any booster shots. The companies that make vaccine haven't made smallpox in thirty years. The very small amounts of vaccine that are on hand wouldn't pass today's FDA standards, and they are discovering that it doesn't work very well if diluted to try to cover more people. It's fortunate for you you have no children (isn't that in the Bible?) If you aren't worried, you don't understand the problem. Would you set out to drive an unfamiliar car on an unfamiliar road in bad weather? That's what you're doing if you don't educate yourself just because you're not "afraid."

It is clear that the government considers this a threat and is in an urgent hurry to respond to it. Our enemy won't think a thing of taking the whole world out with them.

[wingnuts'nbolts]

I don't know what year you got your vaccine but I believe that towards the latter part of the time of innoculation the strength of the vaccine had been altered or deminished so that you did not get the "pox" the earlier vaccine delivered. My mother's scar was the size of a quarter, mine is smaller than my little finger nail and my children don't have scars, but were vacinated.

Also, the smallpox vaccination was done with live bacteria, and the effect is (they said) the same as having had the disease and lasts for a lifetime. Should someone with a vaccination get the smallpox it would be a light case. So I have been told.

Quarantine is the only way to control small pox if it does surface. If the population won't quarentine the sick, then the healthy will have to quarantine themselves. If appearing in public is necessary a mask would also provide some protection. Flying during an outbreak would be really foolhardy, as the air on a plane is not conditioned, but simply recirculated. The worst colds and flu I have ever had have been immediately after a flight.

[TLBSHOW]

BLACKPOX

THEY ARE ALREADY GETTING A WEB SITE READY. CALLED BLACKPOX.ORG

[ChemistCat]

"The worst colds and flu I have ever had have been immediately after a flight."

That is true for me too. Until I had my pneumonia shot, I always got terribly ill after any long flight.

[riri]

What´s that about?