-Caveat Lector-
From
http://www.observer.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4281813,00.html
}}}>Begin
UN's smallpox terror alert
War on Terrorism: Observer special
Anthony Browne, health editor
Sunday October 21, 2001
The Observer
Governments around the world have been warned to prepare against a
terrorist smallpox attack which could kill millions. The World Health
Organisation has told them to ensure they can produce enough vaccine
to protect their population against the disease, and is preparing to
order mass precautionary vaccination of all citizens.
'The unthinkable is no longer unthinkable and we need to prepare for
that,' said a spokesperson for the WHO, the United Nations' health
agency. 'There has been a lot of concern about a smallpox outbreak.
The numbers it would kill are scary.'
The British Government last week issued emergency guidance to health
professionals on how to deal with an outbreak. The guidance, seen by
The Observer, says smallpox is a serious threat because it is easily
passed from person to person, has a fatality rate of up to 90 per
cent, can kill in 48 hours, and few people have been vaccinated. 'In
the event of a deliberate release, it is unlikely that single, mild
cases will occur - it is more likely that clusters of moderate to
severe disease will be seen.'
The WHO masterminded the eradication of smallpox in 1977 and since the early Eighties
has advised governments not to vaccinate. Most under-40s in the UK have not been
immunised.
Following the US anthrax attacks, which by last night had infected a reported 38
people, concern there about a smallpox outbreak is so high that it has ordered 300
million doses of the vaccine from Cambridge-based biotech
company Acambis. Medical studies suggest that an out break in the US would kill
around a million people in three months. The NHS has ordered supplies, but it is not
thought to be enough to cover the population.
Last week, Gro Harlem Bruntland, the WHO's director-general, told its Smallpox
Advisory Group to consider whether to tell all governments to go ahead with mass
vaccination.
It is a devastating setback for the WHO, which considers the eradication of smallpox
its greatest achievement. It is also not without danger, since vaccination can cause
severe side-effects, including permanent brain dama
ge, or even death.
After its eradication, the smallpox virus was kept in only two laboratories in the
world - in Atlanta in the US, and Koltsovo in Siberia. The last two samples were due
to be destroyed next year. However, a Soviet defector
revealed that the dying Communist regime used smallpox in a missile
programme.
There have also been allegations that supplies were sold to Iraq and
North Korea.
Initial smallpox symptoms include fever, severe headache, back and
chest pains and intense anxiety. Victims develop blotchy rashes,
often with purple lesions, followed by a face rash similar to sunburn
and severe scarring.
Death can take from 48 hours to two weeks. There is no treatment.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001
End<{{{
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