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A medieval child whose mummified body was thought to show the earliest known case of smallpox was really suffering from hepatitis, scientists say. DNA analysis of the 16th century remains, found in the Basilica of Saint Domenico Maggiore in Naples, revealed the child was infected with an ancient strain of the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The team believe their findings could help shed new light on the ancient origins of the disease which, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), kills 1.5 million people a year. Previous scientific analysis of the 16th century remains - which did not include DNA...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey health officials were awaiting test results Tuesday to determine if a child from the state is infected with monkeypox. The 11-year-old boy came into contact with a pair of prairie dogs while visiting a family friend in a Midwestern state where the infection has spread, state officials said. Results on blood and lesion samples from the boy sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected in several days. Nationally, health officials were working to contain the spread of the monkeypox virus, which is related to smallpox and apparently has never before...

NYC mayor receives smallpox vaccine Wednesday, February 19, 2003 Posted: 3:29 PM EST (2029 GMT) NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg received a smallpox vaccination at City Hall Wednesday to kick off the city's voluntary vaccine program for key workers. Five city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene workers also were vaccinated, the first of what the city hopes will be 5,000 to 10,000 public health, public safety and health care workers who will be vaccinated by the end of May. The program is part of a nationwide effort to inoculate people who would be the...

SMALLPOX SAFETY SUMMARY    home DoD Smallpox Vaccination ProgramSafety Summary, as of February 12, 2003 Background: On December 13, 2002, the President directed smallpox vaccinations for about 500,000 selected military personnel. DoD vaccinations began immediately for emergency response personnel and hospital staff members. Comprehensive training programs in vaccination technique, infection-control safeguards, screening and education methods, adverse event monitoring, and product storage and handling, aggressively launched in October 2002, made immediate vaccinations possible. In early January 2003, DoD began smallpox vaccinations of selected US military forces, and emergency-essential civilians and contractors deployed or deploying in support of U.S. Central Command missions.Program...

Biological Terrorism : Danger Hushed Up Secret Service: Iraq possesses smallpox pathogens / Federal Government kept the information secret for months / The text of the document Berlin. The Federal Government has apparently concealed information that Iraq possesses biological weapons of mass destruction and is threatening Germany with them. In a government document dated August 9 of last year, which this newspaper has in its possession, it was warned that in attacks using smallpox agents, in which up to 25 million Germans could fall victim, there was not sufficient vaccine available. Not publicizing the document has fueled suspicion that the...

Jeffrey1 Amherst and Smallpox Blankets Lord Jeffrey1 Amherst's letters discussing germ warfare against American Indians "... every Tree is become an Indian...." Colonel Henry Bouquet to General Amherst, dated 29 June 1763. [63k] Lord Jeff Lord Jeffrey1 Amherst was commanding general of British forces in North America during the final battles of the so-called French & Indian war (1754-1763). He won victories against the French to acquire Canada for England and helped make England the world's chief colonizer at the conclusion of the Seven Years War among the colonial powers (1756-1763). The town of Amherst, Massachusetts, was named for...

Smallpox: The Triumph over the Most Terrible of the Ministers of Death Smallpox has been one of humankind's greatest scourges since time immemorial. Even illnesses as terrible as the plague, cholera, and yellow fever have not had such a universal and persistent impact. Smallpox is believed to have appeared at the time of the first agricultural settlements in northeastern Africa, around 10 000 BC (2). It probably spread from Africa to India by means of Egyptian merchants in the last millennium BC (3). The earliest evidence of skin lesions resembling those of smallpox is found on the faces of mummies...