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Elimination of smallpox
Elimination of smallpox
Elimination of smallpox
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Chemical/Biological weapons are not as destructive as nuclear weapons but definitely are destructive in their own way. They have the ability, if used correctly, to wipe out a significantly large amount of people in a relatively short amount of time. Not as quickly as a nuclear weapon, but still quite quickly. Producing chemical or biological weapons is also much cheaper than producing nuclear weapons, mainly because the main ingredient, the organisms within the weapon, is self-producing and only small quantities are needed. (Barnaby 2004) The agent that is to be discussed is taking the smallpox virus and creating a weapon version of it to use against the masses. The threat that this would pose to the general public, would be detrimental, especially if it was released without the knowledge of those it is infecting. The governments of the world, including the United States of America, would have to have an contingency plan in the unfortunate event of the release of this agent.
First, something to go into about is, just what is smallpox and how could it be used as a weapon for terrorists groups or even hostile governments looking to not cause widespread destruction but instead attack the population as a whole. Smallpox is caused by a virus that goes by the name of variola and just one strain of it has a 30% morality rate. (Barnaby 2004) “A global campaign, begun in 1967 and administered by the World Health Organization, eradicated smallpox by 1977.” (Barnaby 2004) On top of this, according to Barnaby, it was suggested by the WHO that all samples or the smallpox virus should be kept under lock and key in the CDC and the Institute of Virus Preparations in Moscow, but the fear is that some of the samples were never collected or that s...
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...t amount of time. Therefore the plan to treat those who were exposed to the virus, must be swift and very efficient. Which the United States has done since 2001 to push for and get a team ready to go at any point and time. Smallpox could be and possibly is the most dangerous biological weapon that any military or terrorist group could obtain, and thus use on anybody of people, innocent or other military personnel.
Works Cited
• Barnaby , Frank. How to Build a Nuclear Bomb and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction. New York: Nation Books, 2004.
• FUHRMANN, MATTHEW. ATOMIC ASSISTANCE HOW "ATOMS FOR PEACE" PROGRAMS CAUSE NUCLEAR INSECURITY. Cornell University Press, 2012.
• Altman, Lawrence K. "U.S. Sets Up Plan to Fight Smallpox in Case of Attack." The New York Times, November 3, 2001. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/04/national/04CDC.html (accessed March 30, 2014).
A young scientist who was very smart and intelligent was the creator of a bomb that killed millions. The bomb was the most powerful weapon that was ever manufactured. He changed the course of World War II. This man is Robert Oppenheimer, creator of the atomic bomb. The book “Bomb” by Steve Sheinkin, is a book that includes teamwork and how Americans made a deadly bomb that changed the course of the war. The book engages the reader through how spies share secret information with enemies. Because the physicists were specifically told not to share any information, they were not justified in supplying the Soviet Union with the bomb technology.
“Future nations will know by history only that the loathsome smallpox has existed and by you extirpated”. This quote comes from Thomas Jefferson to Edward Jenner, he founder of the smallpox vaccine. It would only be 100 years later that Jefferson would see his dream fulfilled, but not without struggle. In House on Fire, author William H. Foege shares his first hand view of the lengths that society needed to go through to rid the world of the disease that had plagued it for so long. The story of the fight against smallpox extends long before our efforts for global eradication and is a representation of how society deals with widespread disease. House on
The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston is an intriguing book that discusses the anthrax terrorist attacks after 9/11 and how smallpox might become a future bioterrorist threat to the world. The book provides a brief history of the smallpox disease including details of an outbreak in Germany in 1970. The disease was eradicated in 1979 due to the World Health Organization’s aggressive vaccine program. After the virus was no longer a treat the World Health Organization discontinued recommending the smallpox vaccination. In conjunction, inventory of the vaccine was decreased to save money. The virus was locked up in two labs, one in the United States and one in Russia. However, some feel the smallpox virus exists elsewhere. Dr. Peter Jahrling and a team of scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Maryland became concerned terrorists had access to the smallpox virus and planed to alter the strain to become more resistant. These doctors conducted smallpox experiments to discover more effective vaccines in case the virus were released. Preparedness for a major epidemic is discussed as well as the ease with which smallpox can be bioengineered.
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Nolan, Janne E. 1999. An Elusive Consensus: Nuclear Weapons and American Security After the Cold War. Washington, DC: Brookings Institute Press.
In order to understand the history of smallpox one first has to understand how diseases like it evolve. Much like other species, diseases that survive in the long run are the microbes that most effectively reproduce and are able to find suitable places to live. For a microbe to effectively reproduce, it must "be defined mathematically as the number of new infected per each original patient." This number will largely depend on how long each victim is able to spread the virus to other victims (Diamond, 198).
Smallpox is a highly infectious and fatal disease caused by the Variola virus. It causes extremely painful pustules to sprout across the entire body. Spread from human to human, it has since been eradicated from the world through the efforts of the World Health Organization. However, there is a distinct possibility that it may be reintroduced through bioterrorism. Biological weapons may cause another pandemic to erupt across the world and kill millions of individuals. Through constant vigilance and careful planning, mankind can prevent this scenario.
...in tact by the 1900 34% of all children had been vaccinated. Britain soon discontinued the idea of the vaccination because there became less people who got infected with smallpox. It was a difficult process to take on the various act of vaccination because the increase of health measure to help control smallpox. By the 20th century a milder smallpox, called variola minor had enter in Britain but only causing about 1% of deaths. In 1973 there was said to be an out break from the laboratory killing two people. Soon the World Health Organization mount a campaign in 1967 when there was about 10-15 million cases yearly and to eradicate smallpox globally (Baxby, 1999). Smallpox was a way to be eliminated from the world and people who have been vaccinated and immune to the disease. The strategy to this method had eradicated smallpox causing the disease to be kept away.
In today’s society, many countries and even citizens of the United States question the U.S. government’s decision to get involved in nuclear warfare. These people deemed it unnecessary and stated that the U.S. is a hypocrite that preaches peace, but causes destruction and death. Before and during World War II the U.S. was presented with a difficult decision on whether or not to develop and use the atomic bomb. The U.S. decided to develop the atomic bomb based on the fear they had for the safety of the nation. In August 1939 nuclear physicists sent manuscripts to Albert Einstein in fear the Germany might use the new knowledge of fission on the uranium nucleus as way to construct weapons.
It is hard to say whether this plan, had it been successful, would have been for the public good. Before this vaccination period, smallpox had been declared eradicated, and only the United States and Russia were allowed to remain in possession of strains of the disease for research. Fearing an attack, President Bush chose to target those who would be the first-responders in the face of a national medical emergency. However, the CDC has emphasized that there is no imminent threat of an outbreak, which leads one to wonder if this vaccine is really necessary or useful to the public, or if it only hinders our workforce and wastes the tax-payer’s money (5).
Volti, Rudi. “Atomic Bomb.” The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Society. Vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, 1999. Modern World History Online. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. .
From the creation of nuclear weapons at the start of the Cold War to today, the world has experienced struggles fueled by the want of nuclear power. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s nuclear weapon program are some of the most important conflicts over nuclear weapons. Thanks to the use of nuclear weapons in 1945 to end World War II, the world has come extremely close to a nuclear war, and more countries have began developing nuclear power. Unmistakably, many conflicts since the start of the Cold War have been caused by nuclear weapons, and there are many more to come.