The Big Deal with Smallpox

Photograph by 3D4Medical.com

       Although smallpox is considered to be a disease of the past its ghost continues to haunt inhabitants today with the threat of its reoccurrence. Smallpox is an extremely infectious, deadly disease that in the 20th century ravished entire households and murdered millions of people. It is understood that smallpox has since been eradicated from the world however; the United States and Russia still have collections of the virus held in two “ultra secure” laboratories on which to conduct research. Despite the proclaimed security of these labs, it is my personal thoughts that these two remaining collections should also be completely destroyed. The threat of bioterrorism in today’s world is an extremely plausible danger; in addition there is a milder form of the disease named cowpox which would be competent enough to serve as an alternative for smallpox in these laboratories, thus leading to why we should terminate our last remaining stocks.
     For thousands of years, smallpox has been the source of devastation across various cultures. After examining the mummy of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses V, who died in 1157 BCE, researchers observed scarring on his remains similar to that of smallpox (History of Smallpox). Additionally, ancient Sanskrit medical texts, dating back from 1500 BCE, have given detailed accounts of smallpox-like illnesses and the disease is believed to have been present in Europe in 300 CE (History of Smallpox). Smallpox has been the killer of numerous influential persons, including King Louis XV of France, Queen Mary II of England, as well as Tsar Peter II of Russia along with an estimated 300 million people in the twentieth century (History of Smallpox). Presently, the last wild outbreak of smallpox has been dated in 1977 in Somalia (History of Smallpox), meaning that forty percent of today’s population has no immunity against this disease, which is one of the prime arguments in support of its preservation (Nature).
     According to the article, “Smallpox Should be Saved,” the author argues that we have an obligation to protect future generations, who have no immunity against this highly contagious disease, and that destroying the last available stocks would prohibit us from doing so. Likewise, the author proposes that if bioterrorism were to emerge, smallpox would be an effective weapon for the protection of our people. It would provide a lethal as well as efficient defense against bioterrorists and prove to be beneficial to our arsenal. Furthermore, the author of this article suggest that further research of this infection could provide advancements in our knowledge of human immunology as well as yield insight into what makes a formidable foe against the human species (Nature). Although these are very valid points, the risk for allowing this disease to exist far outweigh the benefits of letting it linger in our laboratories.
     Adversely, if smallpox were to completely be eradicated then there would be no threat of bioterrorism. Michael Brooks, author of the article, “Smallpox is a Killer, but Not All Viruses Are Villains,” seems to share the same point of view as I do. He states that if smallpox were to fall into the wrong hands, bioterrorists could alter the disease into an even more viral form, that we have no vaccines against, but if we were destroy the samples we have then we would not have to concoct a countermeasure if this were to occur. He also mentions that those in favor of destroying these samples point out that the DNA of smallpox has already been replicated so the need for the live virus has greatly diminished. As I mentioned earlier, forty percent of the world’s population has no immunity against smallpox and past experiences has taught us that the disease kills one-third of the people it infects. With such high numbers, smallpox is a serious threat when it comes to bioterrorism and all precautions should be taken in order to ensure that this threat does not become reality.
     Additionally, in rebuttal to the argument that smallpox is being researched to increase our knowledge of the disease, smallpox has a closely related milder “cousin” named cowpox. Cowpox is basically the cow’s equivalent of smallpox. Cowpox infects the udders of the cow with red blisters, with much resemblance to smallpox itself. In 1976, Edward Jenner created the first vaccine against smallpox using this cousin. He infected a young boy with cowpox and in return the boy became sickly but soon recovered. Afterwards, Jenner later again infected the same young boy with smallpox and found that the boy did not suffer any aliments (History of Smallpox). It has since been concluded that individuals who have contracted the milder cowpox rarely catch the more deadly human form smallpox. This reveals how similar the structure of these two diseases are and that if researchers want to enhance their knowledge about smallpox then using cowpox instead would more than likely prove to be and adequate as well as safer substitute, thus making the reserved collections we have virtually useless. In conclusion, smallpox is a disease that proves to be too dangerous to continue to store.
     The risks of preserving this disease far exceed the potential benefits it could provide. Especially since the terrorists attacks of 9/11 we should be wearier of such risk and take all necessary precautions to protect our people from such threats. Lastly, I understand that the concept of this blog is centered around the idea of health and physical fitness concerning UNC-CH students but this is an issue the that has the potential to not only threaten the health of UNC-CH students but also the health of hundreds of people around the world.

Brookes, Michael. "Smallpox Is a Killer, But Not All Viruses Are Villains." New Statesmen 140.5054       (2011): 14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 04 Oct. 2011.

"History of Smallpox." History of Vaccines — A Vaccine History Project of The College of Physicians of    Philadelphia. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. 

"Smallpox Should Be Saved." Nature.com. Web. 04 Oct. 2011.