4 ms·
Agreed. I actually met a guy a week ago that's working on monkey pox- the next big pox threat. He told me that it's a growing problem and more people are gettin
by araneae 15y ago
Agreed. I actually met a guy a week ago that's working on monkey pox- the next big pox threat. He told me that it's a growing problem and more people are getting infected by it in Africa- larger than what would be explained by the fact that people have stopped vaccinating for small pox. It suggests that monkey pox is an "up and coming" virus. So there's active research on pox, and it's silly to simple throw it away.
The probability of the CDC's stock escaping is really very small, and let's face it, if we got rid of it once we could get rid of it again.
- state_machine 15y agoIt was probably easier to get rid the first time than it would be a second time given the increase in air travel and density in population centers that has occurred since then.
- araneae 15y agoThe reasons given in the article for smallpox being able to be eradicated the first time was because a) It has no animal reservoirs b) The latent period of infection is very short c) There's an effective vaccine None of those things would be different the second time around, unless the viruses itself was changed.
- bhickey 15y agoSmallpox is "easy" to get rid of because it's visible. The infected present with lesions. It also isn't contagious while it incubates. Contrast this with polio, where there are about a thousand infections per every paralysis. Thanks to a couple of ignorant leaders who claimed that the polio vaccine is a Western conspiracy to sterilize African girls, it's spreading again. Great.