Mitsubishi 3000GT & Dodge Stealth Forum banner

I have some questions about Small Pox. . .

293 Views 30 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  Roger Ludwig
Ok, honestly I am NOT scared about Anthrax, at all. I mean its not contageous, hard to deliver, and even harder to make in a weapons grade format. Worst case scenario, Anthrax will mean an inconvenience in my life.

Small Pox however, scares the ever lovin' beJesus out of me!!

Think about it, no-one, I mean NO-ONE has even recieved a vacination for this thing since the early 70's !! Its HIGHLY contageous, (all you have to do is walk within 6 feet of someone to catch it) and it takes 2 weeks before symptoms show up. (which means it can poetentially travel coast to coast before we even know we're about to have an epidemic on our hands)

So, is anyone else thinking about getting vacinated yet? I know I am. . .

My only question is, can the general public even get access to the vaccine?
1 - 20 of 31 Posts
According to my Gov't teacher there is practically no more small pox left on this planet. The only bit of it left is locked up in like a European facility. So there is no big worries about it.
ok to correct white tiger.....though small pox has been effectively "wiped" out from all of the developed and most of the undeveloped a massive vaccination campaign in the 1950's-1960's....small pox still stands as a viable biological weapon.....the cdc in atlanta does have a strand of small pox to use for research and there is one strand in russia...however ...it has been showned that a few organizations have been trying to obtain from various sources....rememebr these diseases are naturally occuring you cant always erradicate them......those people vaccinated over 4 decades ago are most likely no longer immuned to small pox.....so if there is an outbreak.....it could be very bad.....
We have around 15millions vaccination shots in lockdown. They are testing the stuff, by diluting it. So far they can make around 70 million vaccinations by diluting 4to1(I think they are testing several differenct variations) they are trying 10to1. So far with the 70 million would be 90percent effective. Yes, it could be bad. Someone could infect themselves and walk into a hospital or timesquare during New Years and a very very bad things could happen. Last time their was an outbreak they didn't have the systems we have now. We would control it, and probably do some kind of city lockdown, no one leaves no one comes in. Sorta like in the movie "Outbreak". I haven't done to much studying on the disease so Im not sure as to how contagious it is and what countries have it.

-Jeff
Darktrail, but if it takes 2 weeks to develop any symptoms, how could we quarantine it? By the time symptoms start to appear, it could have traveled to a dozen other cities. :(
I wouldn't fear it. They want us to be scared and fear for our lives. They could get ebola here too possibly. Which is a lot more deadly than pretty much everything else.

-Jeff
RoVR4 said:
...those people vaccinated over 4 decades ago are most likely no longer immuned to small pox.....so if there is an outbreak.....it could be very bad.....
Damn - I was just about to feel good about being an old fart for a change. I thought the vaccinations were good for a lifetime?
I'm not worried... they haven't scared me with the Anthrax and they're not going to scare me with anything else. Especially when I don't even know if they have it or not.
"Easier said when you're not in NYC..."

or Florida which is an obvious target.
TransAMan said:
Darktrail, but if it takes 2 weeks to develop any symptoms, how could we quarantine it? By the time symptoms start to appear, it could have traveled to a dozen other cities. :(
This is important - Small Pox is not contagious during the incubation stage of the infection. It only becomes contagious and transmittable after visable symptoms have developed. At this point the sick person would be developing the characteristic skin lesions along with extreme fever and flulike symptoms. Nobody will be transmitting the disease unknowingly and someone in contamination stage would be very obvious to others.
What if a comet hit's the earth and kills us all?

What if a volcano suddenly errupts and burns down a city?

What if it rains for 40 days and 40 nights and we're all flooded and under water?

What if you're driving your car and you suddenly fall over dead?

You can't go on worrying about things and being afraid of them like this. Sure, it's bad. I hope that an outbreak of ANYTHING doesn't happen. There's always that potential in life, though. You can't go on being scared. I'm not trying to be an ass by saying this. I just think people are worrying themselves sick. This isn't neccessarially aimed at you. I've talked to people who are absolutely panic striken with fear. That's just ridiculous. No one should have to be that afraid of something.
That is an INCREDIBLE load off my back! This means that it is feasable to contain an outbreak.
Akira,
I respect your sentiments. However, when I'm in the city every day, eyeing people suspiciously on the subway, feeling the general pall about Gotham, it's hard not to be affected. I'm not running around paranoid, but I know all too well that the city is changed, and fear is rampant.
I agree that things have changed. I, too, live in a city. We have a lot of military stuff here, missile defense stuff, etc. I was really worried at first, but I've calmed my own fears. I've worked on calming the fears of others, too. It's one thing to be concerned, cautious, and wary. It's another to be terrified. I don't think you're terrified. :).
Correct. Far from it. Itr's just an odd sensation to look at places and people now as targets instead of tiles in the mosaic, so to speak.
Sometimes a miracle happens and we eradicate a disease. Biomedical science and public health create this miracle when medicines and vaccines are developed that enable disease control and prevention. At the beginning of the 20th century, few effective treatments and preventive measures existed to prevent infectious diseases. However, vaccines have been developed and used to prevent many of the infectious diseases that threatened our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents during the 20th century.

OK, here is the scoop:

What Is Smallpox?
Here's what you should know about this dangerous virus.

Smallpox is a highly contagious virus that can be spread through the air and infects 30% of the people who are exposed to it. Once infected, there is no cure. None of our current antiviral medications is effective. Smallpox can spread from person to person and through infected blankets, linens, and clothing.
Experts consider it a likely weapon of choice for use in a bioterrorist attack.
Symptoms don't start until about 12 days after exposure to the virus. At first, it's like the flu -- causing an under-the-weather feeling of fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, and backache. Then, severe abdominal pain and disorientation can set in, as small, round sores erupt all over the skin. About 30% of people who become infected will die, and survivors can be left with permanent scars.
Of course, vaccination can prevent smallpox infection. But the World Health Organization's worldwide vaccination campaign, begun in 1967, came to an end in 1980 when the disease was officially declared "eradicated." Here in the U.S., where smallpox was stamped out even earlier, childhood vaccination ceased in 1972.
There are only two official repositories of smallpox virus in the world: the CDC in Atlanta and the Russian State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk. Those supplies are used for scientific research and vaccine development.
These two sources, however, are not the only stashes of the deadly virus.
The same year that worldwide vaccination ceased, the Soviet government began growing and stockpiling large quantities of smallpox virus, specially adapted for use in bombs and missiles.
Even before Sept. 11th, interest was rising in how prepared we are to face a bioterrorism attack. And now that the "unthinkable" has happened, bolstering our smallpox vaccine supply has become a priority. There are currently about 50 million vaccine doses worldwide -- with 5 million to 7
million here in the U.S. (some estimates are as high as 15 million) Experts say that even with an all-out manufacturing effort, it would take at least three years before there was sufficient supply to prevent an epidemic.

So there is the latest... hope it helps. The most reassuring note about smallpox is that once unleashed upon any country, it would spread to EVERY country. That includes Allahs chosen lands in the middle east. All terrorists know that, and although they would die for their cause, they would not risk eliminating their entire populations... PS-they know we wont nuke em, so the current campaign does not risk their entire population....

Breath deep, because if we are exposed it just won't matter :)
See less See more
mobilebeatz said:
tiles in the mosaic, so to speak.
I like that analogy.
So Doc - is the vaccination supposed to be good for life?
akira410 said:
What if you're driving your car and you suddenly fall over dead?
Well, if it's a VR4 I would hope that you would last long enough to stop the car without damaging it. If not, as you're going try to take out someone who pulls out in front of you without looking. ;)
You know, I had noticed a lot of grasshoppers hopping about last summer . . . :eek:
1 - 20 of 31 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top