[ChemistCat]

I'm seeing statistics on the incubation period ranging from 7-17 days.

A lot of people (like me) are alive who wouldn't have been back when smallpox was a going concern. Although I was vaccinated in the late 60s, it's a pretty good bet that I am no longer even slightly immune, in part because my body is weakened by chronic illness. It would take a lot of garlic to reverse that!!! I am willing to bet that there would be HIGHER morbidity and faster transmission today.

One crucial point is whether or not the disease is communicable before symptoms show. I've seen credible sources that say it is, and credible ones that say it is not. God help us if it can spread before it shows.

The always-fatal form of smallpox, blackpox, occurs when the body forms what is basically one huge blister instead of many small ones. The skin tissue is completely separated, turns black, and dies. Death rapidly follows, and I understand that this form produces an exceptionally effective transmission vector.

[vetvetdoug]

How did you like the fact that the Ruskies integrated Ebola into the Smallpox virus in their bioweapon experiments? Ebola and Smallpox, now those together would be a global nightmare.