On Sat, 20 Oct 2001 16:33:31 EDT [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > No, what I'm worried about is smallpox ... > there is no cure, it's very contagious (easily > spread by coughing, sneezing and other general > contact), and fatal in many cases, permanently > scarring in survivors. A terrorist could easily > infect himself and then wander around > infecting people, who would in turn infect > others, who would ... you get the idea. > Supposedly, remaining cultures exist in > only two well-guarded locations in the > world, but terrorism experts agree that > other unauthorized cultures exist in > Russia, North Korea, and possibly Iraq. > Very scary.
I also worry about this, but I did some research. Apparently smallpox is only contagious at the point at which a person is so sick that they are bedridden and the people who contract it from a sick person are generally those who are caring for her/him. It's not like a cold or the flu where you're contagious immediately. The way it could be transmitted would be from, well releasing the virus somehow into the air, or leaving items around that had been worn or used by an infected person during the time that they were in the contagious stage. The American immigrants intentionally wiped out much of the Native Indian population by giving them blankets which had been used for people who died of smallpox. What's scary is that it's no longer possible to get vaccinated - at least not possible for the general public. This has been the case for 27 years. I was probably vaccinated twice during my life, so maybe I would have a milder case, but I can't get my children vaccinated. That really scares me. Marian [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.jmdl.com/guitar/marian/guitar.htm
