Smallpox and its History as a Bio-Weapon - Research Paper Example

?Smallpox and its History as a Bio-Weapon Introduction Smallpox is an extremely infectious disease caused by a virus in the pox family. It preferentially attacks the cells of the skin, causing bumps that are associated with the disease. The virus has an incubation time of around 12 days from when the disease is first contracted to when symptoms first occur. The virus was once widespread throughout the world, killing many people, especially young adults and children with a historical rate of death of 30%. The virus is highly contagious and is easily spread from one individual. The primary method of spreading was through air vapor, meaning the disease was passed quickly among family members and individuals living or working in close proximity to one another. In addition the scabs that were formed as part of the disease were highly infectious, and clothing or bedding used by an individual with the disease was able to pass on the disease to another. The ability of the virus to survive in bedding and clothing provided the inspiration for use of the virus as a biological weapon . There is no direct treatment against the disease. When the virus was first prominent vaccination was an unknown technique. Instead, inoculation was used, which involved inserting the virus itself into the individuals being inoculated. The virus is much more virulent that what is used for vaccination, and it could cause sickness for many weeks in individuals inoculated . Vaccination was developed against the disease later on which helped individuals to create antibodies for the virus, protecting them against infection. Vaccination involves the injection of a lower virulence, homologous virus, which allows the body to raise antibodies against the virus without the large negative effects that inoculation has . There are two forms of smallpox. Variola major is the more serious form and is life threatening in people who are not vaccinated. Variola minor is a milder form of infection that causes illness but rarely death. When the virus first appeared, these strains could not be separated based on clinical form except during outbreaks, now they are able to be identified using virological identification .The virus was considered eradicated as a consequence of a program by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1970 . There are a large number of symptoms connected to smallpox including, excessive bleeding, fever, vomiting, severe headache, delirium and fatigue. One of the most noticeable symptoms is the appearance of a raised pink rash, which turns into sores that then become crusty over time. These sores or scabs are able to pass on the infection and the disease is infectious in an individual until the scabs fall off. While the virus has been eradicated from the general population, samples of it remain in laboratories that are used for government research . The virus caused a large number of deaths worldwide, and there are fears that the remaining samples may be taken advantage of as a bio-weapon, such as in a terrorism attack. Effects if Released There are a number of organisms that could be used in biological warfare that causes widespread death and disease. Smallpox is one of the most serious of these. When the virus was prevalent, the death rate was 30%, and even now there is no specific therapy for infection . If exposure is known, then the vaccine can be given up to four days after exposure. This can prevent the disease or reduce the severity. However, once it has become symptomatic, there are no direct treatments available . Antibiotics are sometimes used to relieve secondary infections that are sometimes associated with the disease, but these have no effect on the progression of the disease itself . The smallpox virus caused widespread death and disease for a significant period of time, throughout the discovery of the New World and the American Revolution in particular. While inoculation was available, there were no treatments against the virus, and those infected were often isolated or killed to prevent the infection from being spread. Inoculation was used as a method of decreasing the likelihood of getting smallpox, or reducing the severity of the disease, however, it was not extremely effective, and had many side effects. It was the development of a vaccine against smallpox that finally led to the demise of the virus. People were once routinely vaccinated against the virus at all stages of life. In 1980, WHO recommended that vaccinations against the virus no longer needed to take place as the virus was no longer present in any natural populations. Currently vaccinations do not take place for the general public, as the costs of the vaccine as well as the risk of complications are thought to outweigh any benefit, as the disease is thought to be completely eradicated. Military personal, emergency respondents and workers in heath care are given the vaccine on some occasions . While vaccinations have ceased since 1980, studies indicate a proportion of the population retain at least partial immunity. It is likely that this will decrease both the mortality and the morbidity associated with a outbreak of small pox if one does occur . Historically, the virus was prevalent in a population where movement between areas of civilization was slow, and travel was nowhere near as frequent as it is today. Travelling from one country to another did occur, but it was difficult, and any infection that was present on the ship prior to sailing was symptomatic before the ship docked, allowing time for the problem to be dealt with. Ships with many smallpox victims would often be quarantined to prevent the virus from making its way ashore. Current levels of travel between countries and cities mean that the virus would spread globally fast, likely outpacing efforts to contain it. This is partly because the virus is asymptomatic for the first few days of infection, but the individual is infectious during this time period. With the speed of modern travel, this easily allows time for an individual to contract the virus and travel almost anywhere in the world before the virus became symptomatic . Even a small release of the virus of 50 to 100 cases could rapidly spread through the population, especially given the density of people in urban areas. The best strategy if a case of smallpox is suspected is to immediately isolate all individuals that are thought to have been exposed, and treat them with the smallpox vaccine . One theorized response to a smallpox outbreak is the mass vaccination of the populace. This has the advantage of preventing uninfected individuals from contracting the disease, as well as helping those individuals that have been infected but are still asymptomatic . However, it has the potential to produce mass panic, as it involves informing the public of the issue, it is expensive and there are a range of side effects from the vaccine, some severe while others not . Reservoirs of the Virus While smallpox was reported to be fully eradicated by 1980, with vaccinations ceasing around this time, not all stockpiles were destroyed. The WHO requested that all remaining samples of the virus be transferred to one of two WHO reference laboratories, or destroyed . Even if stockpiles of the virus are destroyed, there remain other potential sources. Firstly, it is unlikely that all stock of the virus were ever reported, so it is likely that there are unrecognized stockpiles. Secondly, the sequence of the virus is known, so it would be possible to engineer a recombinant version of the virus using the sequence and a homologous virus found in nature. Finally, viable forms of the virus are known to have been recovered from scabs that had been collected 13 years prior, consequently it is likely that individuals that were infected with smallpox that were subject to dry crypts or permafrost may still contain viable forms of the virus . Smallpox Outbreaks and Epidemics Smallpox was particularly important during the time of the second President of the United States, John Adams, due to a major outbreak of the virus during the Revolutionary war. Abigail Adams, the wife of John Adams, took the brave step of having herself and their children inoculated against the virus. The disease was initially thought of as a minor affliction, but it was soon realized how severe the disease was, and some individuals were inoculated many times in an attempt to beat the disease. During this time inoculation against the disease was the only method of fighting it. This was not vaccination, but involved introducing the smallpox virus into the patient. Inoculation often caused many weeks of sickness. John Adams was also inoculated, and the consequence was three weeks in hospital where he suffered from pock marks, headaches and backaches. During the time that John Adams was leading his men in the revolution, smallpox was remarked to be a more severe affliction than anything they faced from their enemies . A short fiction story encapsulates the importance of smallpox in historical times. Lady Eleanor’s Mantle is a short story that focuses on Lady Eleanor Rochcliffe who moves to Boston to live with a relative. She carries with her a mantle that was made by a dying woman and said to contain magical properties. Following the arrival of Lady Eleanor, there is an outbreak of smallpox which affects first the rich and then the poor. Lady Eleanor herself dies and is buried with the mantle, following which the epidemic relents . The story acts to illustrate the strength of the disease and the grip that it held on people’s minds. This is not the only evidence of smallpox in literature, many non-fiction and non-fiction works of the time focused on the disease, such as the novel Dr. Sevier . History as a Bio-Weapon The virus is thought to have originated up to 10,000 years ago in the Middle East. As humans were leaving their nomadic lifestyle and settling into communities, the virus had a higher chance to pass from person to person, and as a consequence outbreaks occurred . The fears for the use of smallpox as a bio-weapon are based on more than simply theory; the virus has been used for this purpose many times in the past. The first confirmed use of smallpox as a biological weapon was during the French and Indian wars between 1754 and 1767. The British soldiers in North America were involved in distributing blankets that were previously used by smallpox victims with the hope that this would result in outbreaks among the native Indians. This was successful, with more than half of the tribes that were affected being wiped out . Earlier reports suggest that smallpox may have been used as early as the 15th century, with the explorer Pizarro presenting the natives of South America with clothing contaminated with the smallpox virus. The use of smallpox as a biological weapon in the New World appears to be common, with many instances of British distributing blankets to native Indians under the guise of friendship while aiming to infect them with the virus . The virus was originally brought into the New World by a Spanish ship in 1518, where the crew had been previously exposed and thus immune, but the native population was devastated by the virus. In total it is thought that around 90% of the native population in the New World were killed by viruses that explorers brought with them, including smallpox . During the Revolutionary War a variation of this was tried by colonists who had been vaccinated against the virus through mandatory vaccinations and were thus able to be exposed to the virus without any harm to themselves . One reason for the recent concerns on the use of smallpox as a bio-weapon is as a consequence of allegations made of the Soviet Union’s bioweapons program. Former deputy director, Ken Alibek, of the civilian bioweapons program claimed that since 1980 the Soviet government had been working on producing the virus in large quantities. In addition they were trying to modify the virus for use in airborne bombs and missiles. Reports also exist of the Soviets trying to recombinant strains of the virus that are more contagious and more virulent . In the years leading up to and including, the Second World War the Japanese military were involved in trying to find ways to weaponize the virus . Conclusion Smallpox is a diseased caused by a virus that was once widely prevalent throughout the world. The virus is both highly contagious, passed through sheets, clothes and water droplets. The virus was used as a bio-weapon as early as the 15th century, with explorers frequently using it against natives of the New World who were extremely susceptible. A common method was to pass blankets or clothing that had been used by individuals who had the virus, to Native Americans under the guise of friendship. Outbreaks of the disease followed within the Native American camps. Concern has been raised that the virus may be used as a weapon in modern times, where it could have a devastating effect as the population is much more mobile and people are in closer contact with one another. There have been indications that the Soviet Union may be experimenting with finding ways of weaponizing the virus, and it is likely that there are unreported stocks of the virus which could be used at some point in the future. Works Cited Read More