Posted on 06/22/2002 12:48:03 PM PDT by LadyDoc
What should I know about Smallpox?
Vaccination is not recommended, and the vaccine is not available to health providers or the public. In the absence of a confirmed case of smallpox anywhere in the world, there is no need to be vaccinated against smallpox. There also can be severe side effects to the smallpox vaccine, which is another reason we do not recommend vaccination. In the event of an outbreak, the CDC has clear guidelines to swiftly provide vaccine to people exposed to this disease. The vaccine is securely stored for use in the case of an outbreak. In addition, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson recently announced plans to accelerate production of a new smallpox vaccine.
Are we expecting a smallpox attack?
We are not expecting a smallpox attack, but the recent events that include the use of biological agents as weapons have heightened our awareness of the possibility of such an attack.
Is there an immediate smallpox threat?
At this time we have no information that suggests an imminent smallpox threat.
If I am concerned about a smallpox attack, can I go to my doctor and request the smallpox vaccine?
The last naturally acquired case of smallpox occurred in 1977. The last cases of smallpox, from laboratory exposure, occurred in 1978. In the United States, routine vaccination against smallpox ended in 1972. Since the vaccine is no longer recommended, the vaccine is not available. The CDC maintains an emergency supply of vaccine that can be released if necessary, since post-exposure vaccination is effective.
Are there plans to manufacture more vaccine in case of a bioterrorism attack using smallpox?
Yes. In 2000, CDC awarded a contract to a vaccine manufacturer to produce additional doses of smallpox vaccine.
If someone comes in contact with smallpox, how long does it take to show symptoms?
The incubation period is about 12 days (range: 7 to 17 days) following exposure. Initial symptoms include high fever, fatigue, and head and back aches. A characteristic rash, most prominent on the face, arms, and legs, follows in 2-3 days. The rash starts with flat red lesions that evolve at the same rate. Lesions become pus-filled after a few days and then begin to crust early in the second week. Scabs develop and then separate and fall off after about 3-4 weeks.
Is smallpox fatal?
The majority of patients with smallpox recover, but death may occur in up to 30% of cases.
How is smallpox spread?
In the majority of cases, smallpox is spread from one person to another by infected saliva droplets that expose a susceptible person having face-to-face contact with the ill person. People with smallpox are most infectious during the first week of illness, because that is when the largest amount of virus is present in saliva. However, some risk of transmission lasts until all scabs have fallen off.
Contaminated clothing or bed linen could also spread the virus. Special precautions need to be taken to ensure that all bedding and clothing of patients are cleaned appropriately with bleach and hot water. Disinfectants such as bleach and quaternary ammonia can be used for cleaning contaminated surfaces.
If someone is exposed to smallpox, is it too late to get a vaccination?
If the vaccine is given within 4 days after exposure to smallpox, it can lessen the severity of illness or even prevent it.
If people got the vaccination in the past when it was used routinely, will they be immune?
Not necessarily. Routine vaccination against smallpox ended in 1972. The level of immunity, if any, among persons who were vaccinated before 1972 is uncertain; therefore, these persons are assumed to be susceptible. For those who were vaccinated, it is not known how long immunity lasts. Most estimates suggest immunity from the vaccination lasts 3 to 5 years. This means that nearly the entire U.S. population has partial immunity at best. Immunity can be boosted effectively with a single revaccination. Prior infection with the disease grants lifelong immunity.
There are links at the start of the article about other bioterror diseases also.
"Folks, we do not have enough vaccine for even a small fraction of the population of the U.S., let alone our allies. However, if we just came out and admitted that, there would be massive public dissatisfaction- the image of the CDC would be harmed. Can't have that. So just go back to sleep, and we'll all agree to pretend that everything is under control".
That said, it seems to me that in a free country, I should be able to walk up to a health care provider and buy a vaccination tomorrow morning which I would like to do. I am not even so sure Rangerairborne is correct--it is in my mind explicable that CDC has enough vaccine but is not letting it out into the marketplace because they think they know better.
Nothing direct I can do about it in the immediate future. But I am not going to vote for George Bush again either.
Apparently the CDC is more than happy to sacrifice a few hundred thousand people rather than let the people make up their own minds about whether they should be vaccinated. I doubt strongly that the complications from the vaccine would be anything more than a few hundred cases of disease in those on chemotherapy and with end-stage Aids.
Infectious disease specialists say that smallpox outbreaks from a lab accident or a monkeypox mutation could be easily contained. A more pertinent question would be what about containing multiple attacks in large venues like stadiums or convention centers simultaneously? The death toll would be quite high.
Do the bad guys have smallpox? Of course they do. Anything the Russians or Chinese have, the terrorists have. After all, it was and is Russia and China who continue to support these countries like Syria and Iraq.
Personally, I will take the vaccine if it becomes available and so will my family. I, at least, have partial immunity; my kids don't.
Any freeper out there know what kinds of problems occur with the smallpox vaaccine and how frequent they are? Amazing how the government and CDC carefully omit this most vital of information from their propaganda.
But then that would make sense and benefit our economy rather than Euroworld.
Required reading, IMHO.
On the other hand, we now have anti viral medication, whereas in the 1970's we only had a small amount of anti serum
Poetknowit is right in pointing out that the vaccine, which causes a sore, can spread to others. So even if we don't vaccinate you, you could catch generalized vaccinia from other people. And remember, most people with HIV don't know they have it...
Also, as Poetknowit points out, vaccinia can be spread to people with ecsema. When you have ecsema, you have lots of cracks in the skin. So even if you are not vaccinated, you could catch it by living with or near someone who has an active vaccine sore, if some of the virus got into your skin. Instead of one sore, you might have dozens of vaccinia sores and be very sick.
This is why David, who understandably wants to get the vaccine, is wrong. He might spread it to another person by accident.
I think the decision to forbid vaccine on request is irresponsible. If vaccine were available to me (and it may be available to me soon, as a probable first responder to a smallpox emergency), I would take it, and use the material from the blister fluid to inoculate my family.
The resistance to widespread vaccination by the federales has two important roots:
1) The "eradication" of smallpox is felt by the involved parties to be the leading Public Health triumph of the century just past. The fact that smallpox was "eradicated" in the sense that war was eradicated by the Kellog-Briand treaty in 1928 is lost on these people.
2) The government is deathly afraid of liability for side effects, especially from fatalities among those with undiagnosed immune deficiency diseases.
In any event, there is enough (diluted) vaccine for everyone-the refusal to allow its use is fundamentally political.
"Side effects [of the vaccine]include low-grade fever and axillary lymphadenopathy. The attendant erythema and induration of the vaccination vesicle is frequently misdiagnosed as a bacterial superinfection. More severe first-time vaccine reactions include secondary inoculation of the virus to other sites such as the face, eyelid, or other persons (~6/10,000 vaccinations), and generalized vaccinia, which is a systemic spread of the virus to produce mucocutaneous lesions away from the primary vaccination site (~3/10,000 vaccinations).
Vaccination is contraindicated in the following conditions: immunosupression, HIV infection, history or evidence of eczema, or current household, sexual, or other close physical contact with person(s) possessing one of these conditions. In addition, vaccination should not be performed during pregnancy, Despite these caveats, most authorities state that, with the exception of significant impairment of systemic immunity, there are no absolute contraindications to post-exposure vaccination of a person who experiences bona fide exposure to variola[smallpox]. However, concomitant VIG [smallpox immune globulin] administration is recommended for pregnant and eczematous persons in such circumstances."
Although Aids is a new disease, eczema and pregnancy are not new. And the vaccine was quite safe.
Of course, if the massive stockpiles of smallpox that Russia developed within months of signing the biological warfare treaty include modified strains, then even new vaccine would be useless.
I note from the book that June 30, 2002 is the date when all smallpox is set to be destroyed in the US, thus rendering us impotent in preparing for any new problems with smallpox. Is that why the government is pushing all of this "don't worry" propaganda, so that we won't squeak when our ability to do research on smallpox ends?
Any freepers in the CDC or current military who know whether this is still the case?
If the vaccine is available, I and my family will take it, and I will advise my patients to seriously consider taking it themselves.
Again, I'll take the vaccine and the government should allow its availability so that physicians and patients can make up their own minds. But in the new United Socialist States of America we apparently will not have that freedom.
The focus needs to be on RAPID detection of unusual disease or disease patterns, before the cases spread widely. State and local health departments have been ramping up their surveillance and reaction capabilities, thanks to federal funding ( it's about time our tax dollars went to something important and Constitutional).
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