During the course of my research for this assignment I have read articles which portray both sides of the continuing smallpox debate. I have also investigated the history of smallpox, its devastating effect on people through the ages and how it affects the body. The articles and web pages I used are listed below;
Anon. (2010). Smallpox demise linked to spread of HIV infection. London: BBC Riedel, S. (2005). Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination. Bethesda: National Center for Biotechnology Information
Boseley, S. (2013). New wave of 'superbugs' poses dire threat, says chief medical officer. London: Guardian News and Media Limited.
Brady, B. (2013). £80m 'wasted' on smallpox terror threat. London: The Independent. Hammond, E. and Li Ching, L. (2011). Smallpox Virus Stocks at the 64th WHA:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2007). Side Effects of Smallpox Vaccination. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Flight, C. (2011). Smallpox: Eradicating the Scourge. London: BBC.
Hinson, T. (2013). Could smallpox really be turned into a biological weapon by terrorists? London: Associated Newspapers Limited
Implementing the Conclusions of the Major Review1. [s.l.] The Third World Network. McKay, B. (2011). Smallpox-Destruction Deadline Gets Delayed. New York: Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
McKie, R. and Stargardter, G. (2011). Smallpox virus: crunch time for the fate of a global killer. London: Guardian News and Media Limited.
Nordqvist, C. (2011). Should Smallpox Samples In The USA And Russia Be Destroyed?. Bexhill-on-Sea: MediLexicon International Ltd.
Nordqvist, C. (2011). Smallpox Samples To Stay For The Moment, World Health Organization Decides. Bexhill-on-Sea: MediLexicon International Ltd.
Sebelius, K. (2011). Why We Still Need Smallpox. [s.l.] The New York Times Company.
Spillius, A. (2011). 'We must keep smallpox stocks' US and Russia tells World Health Organisation. [s.l.] Telegraph Media Group Limited.
Swami, P. (2011). Fears of bioterrorism led superpowers to retain smallpox virus. [s.l.] Telegraph Media Group Limited.
I was particularly impressed with the article written for the New York Times by the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius. Her argument to retain the remaining stocks was well presented and, like my own view on this, focused around the research potential for future vaccines and antivirals. I am also in favour of keeping the remaining vials to continue medical research and expand our knowledge of this disease which, if some of the articles I have read are to be believed, could be misused by terrorists.
If, as Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies (2013) states, “ we will find ourselves in a health system not dissimilar to the early 19th Century at some point” as super bugs evolve and our resistance to antibiotics increases, then destroying these vital sources of research would prove costly. Once the samples are destroyed, any research already undertaken would then become useless and considered out of date.
The reason I would chose to keep the samples of remaining smallpox would be to continue medical research and to ensure we are prepared for another possible outbreak of smallpox. As Sebelius (2011) stated “We’ve beaten smallpox once, but must be ready and prepared to beat it again, if necessary”.
Many of the cases for retaining the samples of smallpox I read centred on needing to be prepared for the threat of terrorists using smallpox as a bio weapon. To use smallpox effectively, the virus would need to be generated in a lab which, as Sillies (2011) says is improbable. “American officials fear that a lethal strain of smallpox could be obtained or synthesised and used in a weapon, although terrorists do not currently have the specialists or the large laboratories needed to synthesis the virus” and this is backed by Craig Venter, one of the 1st geneticists to map the human genome who agrees that “At the moment it requires a pretty sophisticated scientific team”. Of course it is entirely possible that some countries may have retained their own samples of the virus after the eradication. The WHO asked all countries to either destroy or hand over their remaining stocks but this was an act of good faith and the request was never followed up with a compliance check.
The countries opposed to the retention of retaining the samples could be seen as a rather telling indictment of what may lie ahead, Nordqvist (2011) wrote “The US-Russian position is supported by the European Union, Australia and Canada. The following countries, led by Iran are against: Yemen, Peru, Kuwait, Philippines, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bolivia, China, Bangladesh, and Indonesia”
My argument would be based almost entirely around the research we can still use these remaining samples for, the development of a cure should we have another pandemic and a vaccine which would protect against any threat.
The first recorded evidence of smallpox is from ancient Egypt. The mummy of Pharaoh Ramesses V of Egypt, who died in 1157 BC, had a pustular rash which would appear to be smallpox (BBC, 2011). This disease continued to affect and remain problematic for the human race for thousands of years. Thanks to an extensive programme by the World Health Organization (WHO), smallpox was finally eradicated in 1979, a mere 34 years ago. This is relatively small amount of time but the advances in science have been enormous.
The vaccines which were used prior to smallpox’s eradication were very similar to the original developed by Edward Jenner in 1796. The side effects of the vaccine could range from the very mild; the arm receiving the vaccination may be sore and red where the vaccine was given, to the extreme and potentially fatal, postvaccinal encephalitis which is inflammation of the brain. The technology we have at our disposal today could mean the development of a vaccine which does not pose a threat of side effects.
Work is also being undertaken to develop antiviral drugs which, in the event of an outbreak of smallpox, could be used to halt the diseases progression and reduce the risk of death or permanent disfigurement seen on previous survivors of the virus.
By keeping hold of these stocks we are increasing our chances of being able to protect ourselves and future generations from a disease which was a scourge of the human race for thousands of years.
As a parting quote from Sebelius “Destruction of the last securely stored viruses is an irrevocable action that should occur only when the global community has eliminated the threat of smallpox once and for all. To do any less keeps future generations at risk from the re-emergence of one of the deadliest diseases humanity has ever known. Until this research is complete, we cannot afford to take that risk.”
References
1. Anon. (2010). Smallpox demise linked to spread of HIV infection. London :BBC [Online]. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8686750.stm [08-04-2013]
2. Boseley, S. (2013). New wave of 'superbugs' poses dire threat, says chief medical officer. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. [Online]. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/11/superbugs-antibiotics-bacterial-diseases-infections [13-03-2013]
3. Brady, B. (2013). £80m 'wasted' on smallpox terror threat. London: The Independent. [Online]. Available from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/80m-wasted-on-smallpox-terror-threat-8537559.html [13-03-2013]
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2007). Side Effects of Smallpox Vaccination. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [Online]. Available from: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/vaccination/reactions-vacc-public.asp [08-04-2013]
5. Flight, C. (2011). Smallpox: Eradicating the Scourge. London: BBC. [Online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/smallpox_01.shtml#top [03-04-2013]
6. Hammond, E. and Li Ching, L. (2011). Smallpox Virus Stocks at the 64th WHA: Implementing the Conclusions of the Major Review. Geneva: Third World Network. [Online]. Available from http://twnside.org.sg/title2/briefing_papers/twn/Briefing_Smallpox_2011.pdf [26-03-2013]
7. Hinson, T. (2013). Could smallpox really be turned into a biological weapon by terrorists? London: Associated Newspapers Limited [Online]. Available from: http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/08/could-smallpox-really-be-turned-into-a-biological-weapon-by-terrorists-3585028/ [08-04-2013]
8. McKay, B. (2011). Smallpox-Destruction Deadline Gets Delayed. New York: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. [Online]. Available from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576343072510493118.html [01-03-2013]
9. McKie, R. and Stargardter, G. (2011). Smallpox virus: crunch time for the fate of a global killer. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. [Online]. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/feb/13/smallpox-virus-vector-health-terror [13-03-2013]
10. Nordqvist, C. (2011). Should Smallpox Samples In The USA And Russia Be Destroyed?. Bexhill-on-Sea: MediLexicon International Ltd. [Online]. Available from: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/225616.php [13-03-2013]
11. Nordqvist, C. (2011). Smallpox Samples To Stay For The Moment, World Health Organization Decides. Bexhill-on-Sea: MediLexicon International Ltd. [Online]. Available from: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/226464.php [08-04-2013]
12. Riedel, S. (2005). Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination. Bethesda: National Center for Biotechnology Information [Online]. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1200696/ [08-04-2013]
13. Sebelius, K. (2011). Why We Still Need Smallpox. [s.l.] The New York Times Company. [Online]. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/opinion/26iht-edsebelius26.html?_r=0 [13-03-2013]
14. Spillius, A. (2011). 'We must keep smallpox stocks' US and Russia tells World Health Organisation. [s.l.] Telegraph Media Group Limited. [Online]. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8267370/We-must-keep-smallpox-stocks-US-and-Russia-tells-World-Health-Organisation.html [13-03-2013]
15. Swami, P. (2011). Fears of bioterrorism led superpowers to retain smallpox virus. [s.l.] Telegraph Media Group Limited. [Online]. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8267845/Fears-of-bioterrorism-led-superpowers-to-retain-smallpox-virus.html [13-03-2013]
