Thawing Tundra/Smallpox a threat?

www.livescience.com...

Came across this ...sounds right out of ScFi movie to me. Anyone familiar with germ warfare knows smallpox is one of the most contagious diseases known to man. Ask the American Indians...

Hi BP: Thanks for posting this. I was unaware of this and I think it's important information. I was vaccinated 40 years ago and am probably safer than the average non-vaccinated person, but it did say that it weakens as time goes on.
This is a really horrifying thought and the thing is anyone under about 35 years of age has no immunity to it.
This is very important information. Starred and flagged.

Thanks forestlady yeah I think you are right that those above a certain age were vaccinated. Also the timing is around 35 I think.. But don't get too cozy thinking you are OK. Are those old vaccines still any good without booster shots? I really don't know.

That's the 64 million dollar question BP. No one really knows. It has been proven that after 20 years, vaccinated folks still will only measure 4% lethal, as opposed to 50% of those unvaccinated. So I'm assuming I still have some residual resistance to it. It used to be thought that it was life-long immunity, but that was disproven, I believe in 1798.

Someone did a study once a long time ago, about milkmaids in Europe who didn't get smallpox. It was discovered that the milkmaids would scratch the cow, put their fingers in it and lick it - basically they were immunizing themselves against smallpox, because they were exposed to cowpox, a similar virus. Since they were immunized against cowpox from the cow, they were also immunized against smallpox.

Something to remember, if smallpox erupts and there are no vaccinations available.

I would not be willing to bet my life on it (Being still immune) If that was the case, the government would not have looked at giving healthcare workers boosters etc.

I was an am still part of a task force at work that developed procedures at our hospital in the advent of an outbreak and its pretty damm scary.

You would have to lock down the entire area and basically declare martial law. Given the latency period with small pox where you are contagious but have no symptoms it could be spread nation wide before discovery, we are talking about suspending interstate travel etc.

One of our ID docs used to work for the Army in thier biowarfare labs. He said Tom Clancy got it right in his novel Executive Orders

I agree, don't bet on having lifelong immunity. There were different kinds of smallpox vaccines, used in different ways, so unless you know the exact type (which is impossible), you just don't know. I think it was a precaution to have people vaccinated, not taking any chances, which is good.
I'm not a Tom Clancy reader, could you give a brief idea of what you're referring to in Executive Order? THanks Fred T.

Originally posted by forestlady
I'm not a Tom Clancy reader, could you give a brief idea of what you're referring to in Executive Order? THanks Fred T.

Sure.....

Iranian leaders develop a airborn strain of the Ebola virus and release it in 8 US convention cities (IE Las Vegas etc) The virus begins to spread as all those convention people go home and begins to overwhelm the health care system. The president has to declare martial law and suspend interstate travel, calling out the national guard etc.

The former Army officer/MD said that the book detailed several of the worst case scenarios that ASAMRIID looked at including the plan to quarrentine the entire country

a company called SIGA Technologies has a smallpox antiviral that looks to be imminently added to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile:

finance.yahoo.com...

"New Smallpox Antiviral Procurement Commenced"

NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)