I;'m just wondering if they got anthrax, couldn't they get smallpox also, the soviets had plenty at one time within the last 20 yrs. Are the terrorist saving it for later? I think it's very possible they have it and since it's contagious, and most people under the age of 27 were never vaccinated, even those of us who were vaccinated aren't completly protected. Now I don't want to get into a debate over vaccinations, I was vaccinated as a child, and yes, my children are vaccinated, don't let this take the issue away from a smallpox outbreak. I'm wondering what most of you would do if there were an outbreak, do different I mean. Do you think it's coming next? My children are in public school and I would certainly take them out even though your not supposed to be contagious until you run a fever, I volunteer at the school and know first hand how many children are sent to school sick by desperate working parents and some get sick after they get there. I think no trips to Wally world, would suffice also, my kids don't go there much anyway, but golee isn't it just a germ filled haven, think of all the people that enter and exit there, sneezing, coughing, touching the buggies, product on the shelf, then putting it back, during flu season last year I wore gloves whenI "had" to go one time. I don't feel the news media or our goverment is telling us the whole scope of things soon enough, of course, it's to avoid mass hysteria, but I still resent them not being honest.

-- Carol in Tx (cwaldrop@peoplescom.net), October 16, 2001

Answers

Dear Carol, It scares me too. There spreading anthrax everywhere, so I believe they will do small pox too. As so many have posted, stock up, Do it now, not when everyone is panic buying. I would just stay home, I watch that mail your touching. To Tell the truth, I really don"t know what we would all do. I have grand kids who are not vacinated. Well take care, Irene

-- Irene texas (tkorsborn@cs.com), October 16, 2001.

Smallpox is VERY contagious, and I am very surprised if the "powers that be" are not making smallpox vaccine as fast as they possibly can!!! The vaccine is cheap to make, and vaccinating the general public would be a quick and easy fix to the whole smallpox scare.

Frankly, I'm surprised at the idiot who decided that we didn't need to vaccinate for it anymore in the first place! Being over 40, it was an accepted thing that we all got vaccinated for it before we went to school, and never heard of anyone reacting badly to it back then, perhaps with all the garbage in our food and air has made folks less tolerant to normal vaccines now.

Smallpox is far greater danger to us than anthrax, it is fatal in more than half the cases, and that is a true shame since it is so easily prevented! We need to really push those in charge of national defense to start a nationwide vaccination program as quickly as possible, their excuse of not having enough vaccine is NOT valid anymore, since we all know too well the effect of just throwing alot of money at the problem fixes it in a hurry in America! Remember the Y2K scare? Well, throwing alot of money at it sure fixed that well enough!!! My computer geek brother fondly remembers the continual overtime pay quite well!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), October 16, 2001.

It is all a New World Order population control plot. Be nice to everyone under 40, for a lot of them will soon be gone.

-- Joe (CactusJoe001@AOL.com), October 16, 2001.

I don't want to sound to morbid, not to dimiss the horrible effects of a smallpox attack.

However, in addition to the real problems of the disease itself, have you considered the effects on the economy?

If having the airlines grounded for a day or two had the bad effects it did, imagine a highly contagious disease!

Would you go to the store?

Woudl you go to work?

This one scares the heck out of me for both health and economy reasons.

- Greybear

-- Got Groceries ?

-- Greybear (greybear@worldemail.com), October 16, 2001.

Well, if there was a smallpox outbreak, I think I'd pull the oldest out of public school, take the spare fence posts and barbed wire and fence off the front, let the dogs loose, and hunker down and sit tight. I usually don't go to town anyway since I work from home, so it wouldn't be a great big deal for me to sit tight. Wife is quite the homebody of late too.

And not to be a doomsayer, but something that's been on my mind has been poisening on a large scale via our current food system. What if a food processing plant or a bottling plant was targeted and it produced tons of contaminated prepackaged food that was consumed by hundreds of thousands?

Or even a small scale nuclear attack or planned accident at a reactor? How many people have a root cellar or a storm shelter they can convert into a fallout shelter and retreat to? I don't - at least not yet. How many people even know enough to build a quick fallout shelter and vent it properly to minimize radiation exposure? Go to :

http://www.oism.org/nwss/s73p904.htm

for some good info on surviving fallout and quick shelter building.

-- Eric in TN (eric_m_stone@yahoo.com), October 16, 2001.

Eric is right. If there is a smallpox outbreak, you'd better be prepared to stay home for at least a couple of months with NO outside contact. And if there is an outbreak and someone in your family gets it (which means you all will, as it's very contagious) you need to be prepared to nurse them at home. The hospitals will be overloaded and they may also refuse to take smallpox patients as the presence of one smallpox case would endanger everyone in the hospital. You would need quarantine signs, like people used to put up on their doors years ago when they had someone contagious in the house. And you need medical supplies for nursing the sick in your own home. And enough food to get through several weeks. I've seen estimates of 12 to 24 months before the epidemic would be finished, so it wouldn't be over quickly. And when it was done, the infrastructure would be pretty much shot altogether, with nearly half of the population gone. Maybe more, as I suspect a lot would starve to death. Maybe this is one of the plagues mentioned in the Bible as happening during the Tribulation, in which case it isn't going to happen quite yet. I sure hope so.

The only good news is, if you get it and survive, you won't get it again, so could go nurse others safely.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), October 16, 2001.

Does anyone know if the smallpox vaccination that we recieved when we were kids is still effective?

-- vicki in NW OH (thga76@aol.com), October 16, 2001.

So I've been wondering since Sept 11 what medicines/herbs/techniques were used to nurse people through smallpox? Does anyone out there know or remember (from first-hand or second-hand knowledge)? With a certain percentage of people not making it through smallpox, are there any pre-determining factors on who would or wouldn't recover from exposure? I know the young, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. Any other factors play a role? And besides vaccinations, are there any steps can we take before hand, especially for our children? I remember reading stories about how families would lose half their children but the other half would come through fine. Does it just come down to individual immune systems?

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), October 16, 2001.

Vickie - I had always thought a small pox vaccination was good for life, but recently heard on TV or the radio one of the "experts" say that it was not necessarily good for life. It certainly didn't make me feel any better.

-- Duffy (hazelm@tenforward.com), October 16, 2001.

Here's the site I got most of my info from. www.jama.ama- assn.org/issues/v28ln22/ffull/jst90000.html those who were vaccinated before may not be protected completely, but we're better off than anyone under the age of 27, unless they've recieved the vaccine in the military. Yes, we plan to not let anyone on our place or got out, well my husband said since he'd been vacinated twice he'd go to the store or wherever if needed. I plan on not having to go anywhere, stocking up is a good ideas for all kinds of different reasons, lets say you need a few groceries, you go to town and pick up a few, the can or box you bought was stocked, picked up, or transported by someone who was feeling a little achy that day, maybe a cough or sneezing, well don't you think it's all over the product? If the British could infect the indians with blankets used by smallpox victims, it could be done without knowledge nowadays with our transportations systems now. When it was an epidemic, they had separate smallpox hospitals and you Quarentined your place, no one in or out, you lived thru it best you could. Now there are two major types a major and a minor the minor being similiar to chickenpox, and the major being fatal in 30% of the cases if left to itself, meaning no intervention with antibiotics or our current medical care we have now that they didn't have back then. I have a 18 yr old son who works at the local grocery and lives in town on his own, it kills me to think I couldn't let him come to our home, but at least he might could bring us some things we needed and leave them at the gate. My dh is currently building a chainlink fence across the front of the property with a gate, not neccesarily because of this he actually started it the Sept. 10th, he has the material already, it's scraps actually and needs to use it up. Of course everyone who knows were just a little different here, think he's doing it to bunker down, and the fact is a 5-6 ft chain link fence won't stop much for the dishonest people, but would be a barrier for the honest, we could put a sign up in case of a quarentine.

-- Carol in Tx (cwaldrop@peoplescom.net), October 16, 2001.

p.s. pregnant women are at great risk also, along with people with auto-immune diseases, children, the elderly, anyone who's immune system has been compromised by chemo etc.

-- Carol in Tx (cwaldrop@peoplescom.net), October 16, 2001.

Smallpox is contagious, but it is NOT 50% fatal. Year 1921 in the U.S. 89,357 cases reported 481 deaths, in 1939, 9877 cases 41 deaths, in 1945, 346 cases and 12 deaths. You need to look at facts NOT hype. Vaccines are not only not reliable, but they are not safe. Many (read most) contain more mercury and aluminum. Although most children have only slight reactions to the shots, many get brain damage or even die. If you, get five or more flu shots your chance of getting Alzheimer's skyrockets. It takes quite a while for a vaccine to be made, how do "they" know in advance what version of the flu is going to hit any individual year. Funny, isn't it, that last year was such a mild year for the flu considering last year there was such a shortage of flu vaccine? The vaccine will be a lttle late this year, it is said, do you want to bet that the flu season will be late this year also? Tana

-- Tana Cothran (tana@getgoin.net), October 16, 2001.

Smallpox History:

The disease is at least 3000 years old, confirmed in China and India, with a few isolated cases in North Africa.

There is no mention in Europe until the 6th century.

During the 17th and 18th Centuries smallpox was the most serious infectious disease in The West and accounted for a substantial proportion of deaths, especially among town dwellers. The mortality rate varied regionally, with 10% in Europe and 90% in America. During the 20th Century there was recognised for the first time a milder form of smallpox, called variola minor or alastrim, with a consistently low mortality rate of the order of 1%. This disease was endemic in Britain until 1935. Still more recently there has been recognised a third form, named East African Smallpox, the mortality rate of which in uncaccinated subjects is about 5%. This has not been recognised as having occurred in The West.

NOTE: The different types have different mortality rates. One can assume if a biological agent developed for war is released it will MUCH more deadly than the naturally occurring kind.

From the CDC:

Facts about Smallpox

Smallpox infection was eliminated from the world in 1977.

Smallpox is caused by variola virus. The incubation period is about 12 days (range: 7 to 17 days) following exposure. Initial symptoms include high fever, fatigue, and head and back aches. A characteristic rash, most prominent on the face, arms, and legs, follows in 2-3 days. The rash starts with flat red lesions that evolve at the same rate. Lesions become pus-filled and begin to crust early in the second week. Scabs develop and then separate and fall off after about 3-4 weeks. The majority of patients with smallpox recover, but death occurs in up to 30% of cases.

Smallpox is spread from one person to another by infected saliva droplets that expose a susceptible person having face-to-face contact with the ill person. Persons with smallpox are most infectious during the first week of illness, because that is when the largest amount of virus is present in saliva. However, some risk of transmission lasts until all scabs have fallen off.

Routine vaccination against smallpox ended in 1972. The level of immunity, if any, among persons who were vaccinated before 1972 is uncertain; therefore, these persons are assumed to be susceptible.

In people exposed to smallpox, the vaccine can lessen the severity of or even prevent illness if given within 4 days after exposure. Vaccine against smallpox contains another live virus called vaccinia. The vaccine does not contain smallpox virus.

The United States currently has an emergency supply of smallpox vaccine.

There is no proven treatment for smallpox but research to evaluate new antiviral agents is ongoing. Patients with smallpox can benefit from supportive therapy (intravenous fluids, medicine to control fever or pain, etc.) and antibiotics for any secondary bacterial infections that occur.

NOTE: Antibiotics do not cure viral diseases.

-- Joe (CactusJoe001@AOL.com), October 16, 2001.

The following was taken from a web page on smallpox.

Smallpox: Bioweapons ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- tactical value The value of any biological weapon is that is serves both a tactical and strategic function: tactical because it can quickly destroy enemy troops, and disrupts production and distribution of equipment. Friendly troops and citizens can be protected through inoculation.

strategic because it can act as a major psychological factor, even if its tactical success is limited. Further, unlike nuclear weapons, there is no destruction of property. An attacker only has to clean up the bodies when they move into an unoccupied city.

sources Smallpox sources include: US and former USSR medical research archives (known, certain) Hostile regimes that may have preserved samples (unknown, unlikely) Published genome (known, certain) Wild samples (unknown, unlikely)

risk It is my opinion that the use of smallpox as a terrorist weapon against a Western nation is unlikely, for the following reasons: Access: as mentioned above, I don't think it's likely that a hostile regime has preserved samples (they would have used them by now), and I doubt they are unable to generate stocks from the genome (they lack the technology).

Indescriminate: the West can inoculate themselves, and the terrorist- friendly regimes cannot. Smallpox could spread and engulf the attacker's community with a much higher casualty rate.

Retaliation: The West is capable of producing much more deadly bioweapons, and is capable of deploying them more effectively, and protecting itself. If the West is attacked with biological weapons, the gloves will come off, and there is no strategic advantage to a terrorist to escalate hostilities to this point.

-- TomK(mich) (tjk@cac.net), October 16, 2001.

Those of us over 40 that were vaccinated are not protected any better than the rest of the population, it is only effective for 10 years.

Tana, I would get my whole family re-vaccinated in a heartbeat, I'm old enought to remember quit vividly the horrors of polio, diptheria and tetanus. You have a better chance of dying being hit by lightening than becoming even slightly ill from a reaction to a vaccine, sounds like a no-brainer decision to me. You must be under 40, and have no remembrance of polio and what it did to folks before they finally died.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), October 16, 2001.

Polio was already dying out before a vaccine was even made for it, even the inventor knew that. I am 36 and have a vaccine injured child. When I moved last December, The man that inspected my house went to church with a family that has a vaccine injured child. When I went to the bank to open an account, the woman in charge of new accounts has a vaccine injured nephew. I recently went to a homeschool play group with my kids and a couple there also had a vaccine injured nephew. The county I live in is under half of a million people, doesn't sound like a small risk to me. Tana

-- Tana Cothran (tana@getgoin.net), October 16, 2001.

Had to go to the doctor today for my quarterly visit. He was in the building in New York where the antrax contamination happened and at the right time, he just happened to not be on the floor where it happened. In talking with him he said antrax was self limiting and treatable if found with in the first few days for breathed and first weeks for skin infection. But Small Pox is a different story. Really no treatment after you are infected except treating the effects. Infected people we would probably lose 50 percent, especially in a huge break out. As for old vaccinations, I have two scars on my left arm and one on my left shoulder. One from childhood, one from having to go some where that they still had it thirty five years ago and another one on my shoulder from working at the CDC in Atlanta some years ago. I have had three and still after all this time none of them are anygood as far as protecting anyone from the small pox. There is no way we can produce enough vacine to do any good fast enough. And by the way Tana if you get a chance to vaccinate your children you better do it. Sure people that have had several flu shots are more prone to alzhimers, they lived long enough because of the shots to get the Alzhimers. I should know at my age.

-- David (bluewaterfarm@mindspring.com), October 17, 2001.

Dear Tana, I am so sorry about your child. There is a risk, for sure. However, in an epidemic, people have to weigh the risks. Health care workers and fire and police would have to have immunizations. I think that life threatening diseases like small pox are much more reasonable to immunize too for than chicken pox, for goodness sake!

Good preparations now would include better handwashing habits for all, bacteriocidal soaps and dish soaps, using some clorox in the wash, having food, water, and medical preps, good locks on the doors, etc.

-- seraphima (gardener@com.post), October 17, 2001.

I respectfully add that polio was NOT dying out on it's own, that was the direct result of more than a decades worth of vaccinations taking place!!! And less than 10 cases of vaccine reaction out of half a million sounds like excellent odds to me, afer all, they are alive, not dead of polio.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), October 17, 2001.

It would be nice if people wouldn't get so derogatory about other people's personal decisions pertaining to their children. Most people who question the status quo of routine vaccinations have done so much research they would almost qualify for a degree or something. If everyone was required to do this research or at least read the insert that comes with the product, you'd probably hear about people with concerns more often.

Now can anyone answer my previous questions which are relevant to this thread?

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), October 17, 2001.

ok..this is what I have found in my research so take a grain of salt with this advice as it is not something that I have tried and proved. This was from a Dr. who had treated smallpox in Mexico many years ago. He said Cleanliness is most important. Keep smallpox patients in seperate rooms if possible, no 2 together. Hot baths for the pain. NO FOOD for a week. He says with no food you have no diahrea. An enema of 2 quarts once a day. In the second week food sparingly. Another herbalist site mentioned baths in freshly grated ginger. Also some shitake,resiha mushrooms* bovine colstrum and Euchea to build up the immune system. Black Cotash helps with back pain as well. These will help with type A flu as well. please excuse the spelling. In a pinch uses Iodine tinture once a day up to the first knuckle of index finger for radiation. The iodate or iodite pills are best BUT are expensive and most sites are sold out for now.

-- Lynnda (venus@zeelink.net), October 17, 2001.

Thank you, Lynnda!

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), October 17, 2001.

I've been doing some research on Smallpox, which includes speaking to our pediatrician and a microbiologist that I work with. The pediatrician told me that the immunizations us "older" folks received as children are still effective. In other words we should still have antibodies to smallpox. Smallpox virus is related to chicken pox. I believe it's called variolo (chickenpox is varicella). Like chicken pox, it's extremely contagious via casual contact. My microbiologist friend tells me that smallpox is one of the most contagious diseases. It can be fatal in some, and will leave disfiguring scars. If caught early, the vaccination actually serves as a preventive treatment for smallpox, I believe if administered within 7 days of contracting the virus. It is also treated with strong antiviral drugs.

It takes a few years to manufacture the smallpox vaccination. We don't have enough for everyone at present.

If, God forbid, there is a smallpox outbreak we are going to be in deep water. I honestly don't know if it's feasible for it to occur. I feel the likelihood is probably remote at this time, but I wouldn't doubt it may happen in the future with the way things are going. Our plan is to pull the children from school the minute we hear of a single case in the news. I will quit my job and we will stay quarantined until it blows over. We have been preparing by stockpiling necessary goods. As with every winter, we are building up our immune systems with herbs and good nutrition. I've been stockpiling my natural remedies, as well. I am also doing research into homeopathic remedies for various problems that may occur from bioterrorism diseases. I want to keep those on hand just in case.

My husband's building had an Anthrax scare yesterday (we live in southern NY State). It turned out to be a hoax. My husband also lost his best friend in the WTC disaster. It is pure stress living in New York State. I pray that this ends soon.

-- amy (acook@in4web.com), October 17, 2001.

Just thinking here... If it takes years to produce smallpox vaccine (I've no doubt) couldn't it be done the old fashioned way much faster? Infect a cow with smallpox, which in a cow is cowpox, then get the pus from the scabed over rash a week later to infect people with the cowpox. Then bring the first batch of people back in a week and infect more people with cowpox with the pus from the first people. I know this sounds a little gross, but that is the way it was done in the 1700's. It seems to me a much quicker way. With just one cow infected we could have our country covered in a matter of months, with more than one cow it would take only a matter of a few weeks. Tana P.S. Without worry of what kinds of additives have been put in vaccines.

-- Tana Cothran (tana@getgoin.net), October 17, 2001.

Tana, I was just going to post about Edward Jenner and the cowpox vaccine but you beat me to it.

I will say unless your cows are completely organic, one might have to worry about the additives/other things in the cow from pesticides, feed, etc. Supposedly organic cows have never had "mad cow".

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), October 17, 2001.

From what I read, cowpox is not the same as smallpox, but is somewhat related.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), October 17, 2001.

Well, we can't go back in time, but it is belived that the cows got cowpox from people with smallpox (variola), the virus changed in their bodies to cowpox (vaccina), the same but different. People could get the changed virus and it would protect them from the somewhat deadly smallpox. Tana P.S. Note that to vaccinate means to en-cow. Ha Ha Ha

-- Tana Cothran (tana@getgoin.net), October 17, 2001.

Bren you are very welcome ..... I had read that about the cowpox too, wonder if beef cattle get it? Those I have, dairy I don't. But the clostrom (sp) from the cows (first milk) is supposed to be great for lots of diseases.

-- Lynnda (venus@zeelink.net), October 18, 2001.

Here is an excerpt from an article about smallpox. The complete article can be found at: www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html? f=/stories/20011019/743714.html

"Anthrax is awful and what is happening is awful," says Dr. Mark Miller, a Montreal physician and president of the Canadian Infectious Disease Society. "But anthrax is treatable; there are antibiotics. The problem with smallpox is there is no treatment."

Dr. Miller says almost everyone in Canada is theoretically susceptible. To start, no one born in Canada or the United States since the early 1970s is immune, because smallpox vaccination has been deemed unnecessary for decades. And those who were inoculated as children are also vulnerable, says Dr. Miller, because they probably have only minimal residual immunity.

"About 10% to 15% of these people will die, instead of 50% of people who were never vaccinated," he says.

-- Joe (CactusJoe001@AOL.com), October 19, 2001.

The never ending questions that have sprung to mind since 9/11 are almost beyond comprehension. I had no idea that smallpox was even an equation in this madness. Of course you read about it but how feasible is it that we may be open to such an outbreak? Is this another scare or is it in fact a reality? Should I be taking precautions or am I being pulled into the hysteria?

-- lee daisy (leedaisyw@cs.com), October 19, 2001.

I walked into a used book store a few weeks ago and picked up a book, It is Comfort to the Sick by Brother Aloysius,originaly published in Holland in 1901, here is what he has to say about Smallpox. Smallpox is a contagious disease. The first symptoms are fever and severe pain in back , loins, and nausea. This is followed by red spots, which soon become hard, pointed pustules and suppurating ulcers. One should ensure plenty of fresh air, a window should be kept open day and night. although this is a serious disease, it is easily cured by giving a quick whole wash every hour, these washes should not last longer then one minute and should be in cool water. by washing one does not mean rubbing, but regularly and quickly wetting all the pores. With the whole body wash, every part of the body must be moistened in this way with cold water , even the soles of the feet. Before taking a wash the patient should have been in bed for some time so that both patient and the bed are warm, after the wash, the patient should remain in bed for a lest half and hour. The would be thoroughly and quickly washed with a coarse linen cloth, a hand towel for example which has been dipped in water and wrung so that it no lonlo=ger drips. The use of a sponge is not suitable since it is so small that the wash would take longer, while it in fact can be completed in half a minute. A wash can be taken without the help of anyone else, after wetting the towel , one should unfold it, take one corner in each hand , throw it over one's head so that it covers the shoulders and back and then pull it downward. One should then wash the neck, chest, arms and other parts, quickly pull on a shirt and jump into bed. these washes would not take longer then one minute. He says A lady from Verviers recovered from smallpox in nine days by wearing two cold wet shirts daily, she kept each wet shirt on for 1 and one half hours. She also applied cold compresses on her face day and night. No sign of a scar on her face could be traced after this treatment. Stew some leeks, add linseed meal to make a poultice, if this poultice is placed on the buttocks, abdomen and legs, the pocks will appear there instead of the face. for old purulent sores, apply fresh pounded yarrow leaves or compresses of the decoction of the dried hers. or boil potatoes without salt, mash then=m into a poultice with raw buttermilk apply this very thickly on the bare sores. There are few remedies which heal old sores as surely and swiftly as this simple, cheap remedy. The patient should abstain from anything stimulating such as beer, coffee or pork. Even if there is burning in the sore, it will disappear in a day if this remedy is used. If there are fleshy excrescences in the sores, they must first be removed if not a sore cannot possibly heal. It can be cured by sprinkling it with powdered walnut septa or finely powdered alum. Place unsalted soft cheese fairly thickly on the sores . This has almost the same effect, although preference should be given to the previous remedy. both of these remedies should be renewed as soon as they begin to dry out. grated raw potatoes laid thickly on old sores is also an excellent remedy. Mix white bread, soaked in warm water with a little saffron and place on the sores. Fenugreek applied as a poultice is also most efficacious. Chamomile flower compresses are another well known old remedy for sores, these are particularly palliative if the sore is painful sprinkle the sore with charcoal powder, specially if the sore is very wet. This dries and heals. Mix 2 teaspoons powdered myrrh, dissolved in a little alcohol, with 3 tablespoons charcoal powder and 1 and one half cups lard and apply a plaster of this twice away. this is good for sores that itch and sweat. For burning in the sore apply rice boiled in water, or apply a poultice of elder flowers prepared with white bread and water. with sores it is impotent to ensure good bowel movements, It is advisable to take daily cup of depurative tea, from the decoction of burdock or yarrow. Leaves and flowers of marigold , cooked with lard, give a good healing ointment which will keep for some time and should be used on sores that itch or sweat. Fry fresh butter until it is completely brown then pour it into cold water and leave for twenty four hours, then remove it and squeeze well in a clothe to extract all the water. This butter has a strong power to heal both fresh and old sores. It should be thinly smeared on linen and placed on the sores. Sores with fleshy excrescences can be helped as follows take clay which has been well burnt from an oven mix it with half white wine, and half apple vinegar to a thick paste, place this on the sore with fleshy excrescences. Or pound raw onions, mix with olive oil and place on the excrescences. Or sprinkle with sugar or burnt alum"

Well this advice is one hundred years old, but it sure could be better then nothing. All Luck to everyone. Love TRen

-- Trendle Ellwood (trendlespin@msn.com), October 20, 2001.

What a great find! Thanks for sharing all that with us, Tren! Love,(your rhyme) Bren

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), October 20, 2001.

October 19, 2001 / 50(41);893-7 Recognition of Illness Associated with the Intentional Release of a Biologic Agent On September 11, 2001, following the terrorist incidents in New York City and Washington, D.C., CDC recommended heightened surveillance for any unusual disease occurrence or increased numbers of illnesses that might be associated with the terrorist attacks. Subsequently, cases of anthrax in Florida and New York City have demonstrated the risks associated with intentional release of biologic agents (1). This report provides guidance for health-care providers and public health personnel about recognizing illnesses or patterns of illness that might be associated with intentional release of biologic agents.

Health-Care Providers Health-care providers should be alert to illness patterns and diagnostic clues that might indicate an unusual infectious disease outbreak associated with intentional release of a biologic agent and should report any clusters or findings to their local or state health department. The covert release of a biologic agent may not have an immediate impact because of the delay between exposure and illness onset, and outbreaks associated with intentional releases might closely resemble naturally occurring outbreaks. Indications of intentional release of a biologic agent include 1) an unusual temporal or geographic clustering of illness (e.g., persons who attended the same public event or gathering) or patients presenting with clinical signs and symptoms that suggest an infectious disease outbreak (e.g., >2 patients presenting with an unexplained febrile illness associated with sepsis, pneumonia, respiratory failure, or rash or a botulism-like syndrome with flaccid muscle paralysis, especially if occurring in otherwise healthy persons); 2) an unusual age distribution for common diseases (e.g., an increase in what appears to be a chickenpox-like illness among adult patients, but which might be smallpox); and 3) a large number of cases of acute flaccid paralysis with prominent bulbar palsies, suggestive of a release of botulinum toxin.

CDC defines three categories of biologic agents with potential to be used as weapons, based on ease of dissemination or transmission, potential for major public health impact (e.g., high mortality), potential for public panic and social disruption, and requirements for public health preparedness (2). Agents of highest concern are Bacillus anthracis (anthrax), Yersinia pestis (plague), variola major (smallpox), Clostridium botulinum toxin (botulism), Francisella tularensis (tularemia), filoviruses (Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Marburg hemorrhagic fever); and arenaviruses (Lassa [Lassa fever], Junin [Argentine hemorrhagic fever], and related viruses). The following summarizes the clinical features of these agents (3--6).

Anthrax. A nonspecific prodrome (i.e., fever, dyspnea, cough, and chest discomfort) follows inhalation of infectious spores. Approximately 2--4 days after initial symptoms, sometimes after a brief period of improvement, respiratory failure and hemodynamic collapse ensue. Inhalational anthrax also might include thoracic edema and a widened mediastinum on chest radiograph. Gram-positive bacilli can grow on blood culture, usually 2--3 days after onset of illness. Cutaneous anthrax follows deposition of the organism onto the skin, occurring particularly on exposed areas of the hands, arms, or face. An area of local edema becomes a pruritic macule or papule, which enlarges and ulcerates after 1--2 days. Small, 1--3 mm vesicles may surround the ulcer. A painless, depressed, black eschar usually with surrounding local edema subsequently develops. The syndrome also may include lymphangitis and painful lymphadenopathy.

Plague. Clinical features of pneumonic plague include fever, cough with muco-purulent sputum (gram-negative rods may be seen on gram stain), hemoptysis, and chest pain. A chest radiograph will show evidence of bronchopneumonia.

Botulism. Clinical features include symmetric cranial neuropathies (i.e., drooping eyelids, weakened jaw clench, and difficulty swallowing or speaking), blurred vision or diplopia, symmetric descending weakness in a proximal to distal pattern, and respiratory dysfunction from respiratory muscle paralysis or upper airway obstruction without sensory deficits. Inhalational botulism would have a similar clinical presentation as foodborne botulism; however, the gastrointestinal symptoms that accompany foodborne botulism may be absent.

Smallpox (variola). The acute clinical symptoms of smallpox resemble other acute viral illnesses, such as influenza, beginning with a 2--4 day nonspecific prodrome of fever and myalgias before rash onset. Several clinical features can help clinicians differentiate varicella (chickenpox) from smallpox. The rash of varicella is most prominent on the trunk and develops in successive groups of lesions over several days, resulting in lesions in various stages of development and resolution. In comparison, the vesicular/pustular rash of smallpox is typically most prominent on the face and extremities, and lesions develop at the same time.

Inhalational tularemia. Inhalation of F. tularensis causes an abrupt onset of an acute, nonspecific febrile illness beginning 3--5 days after exposure, with pleuropneumonitis developing in a substantial proportion of cases during subsequent days (7).

Hemorrhagic fever (such as would be caused by Ebola or Marburg viruses). After an incubation period of usually 5--10 days (range: 2--19 days), illness is characterized by abrupt onset of fever, myalgia, and headache. Other signs and symptoms include nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, chest pain, cough, and pharyngitis. A maculopapular rash, prominent on the trunk, develops in most patients approximately 5 days after onset of illness. Bleeding manifestations, such as petechiae, ecchymoses, and hemorrhages, occur as the disease progresses (8).

Clinical Laboratory Personnel Although unidentified gram-positive bacilli growing on agar may be considered as contaminants and discarded, CDC recommends that these bacilli be treated as a "finding" when they occur in a suspicious clinical setting (e.g., febrile illness in a previously healthy person). The laboratory should attempt to characterize the organism, such as motility testing, inhibition by penicillin, absence of hemolysis on sheep blood agar, and further biochemical testing or species determination.

An unusually high number of samples, particularly from the same biologic medium (e.g., blood and stool cultures), may alert laboratory personnel to an outbreak. In addition, central laboratories that receive clinical specimens from several sources should be alert to increases in demand or unusual requests for culturing (e.g., uncommon biologic specimens such as cerebrospinal fluid or pulmonary aspirates).

When collecting or handling clinical specimens, laboratory personnel should 1) use Biological Safety Level II (BSL-2) or Level III (BSL-3) facilities and practices when working with clinical samples considered potentially infectious; 2) handle all specimens in a BSL-2 laminar flow hood with protective eyewear (e.g., safety glasses or eye shields), use closed-front laboratory coats with cuffed sleeves, and stretch the gloves over the cuffed sleeves; 3) avoid any activity that places persons at risk for infectious exposure, especially activities that might create aerosols or droplet dispersal; 4) decontaminate laboratory benches after each use and dispose of supplies and equipment in proper receptacles; 5) avoid touching mucosal surfaces with their hands (gloved or ungloved), and never eat or drink in the laboratory; and 6) remove and reverse their gloves before leaving the laboratory and dispose of them in a biohazard container, and wash their hands and remove their laboratory coat.

When a laboratory is unable to identify an organism in a clinical specimen, it should be sent to a laboratory where the agent can be characterized, such as the state public health laboratory or, in some large metropolitan areas, the local health department laboratory. Any clinical specimens suspected to contain variola (smallpox) should be reported to local and state health authorities and then transported to CDC. All variola diagnostics should be conducted at CDC laboratories. Clinical laboratories should report any clusters or findings that could indicate intentional release of a biologic agent to their state and local health departments.

Infection-Control Professionals Heightened awareness by infection-control professionals (ICPs) facilitates recognition of the release of a biologic agent. ICPs are involved with many aspects of hospital operations and several departments and with counterparts in other hospitals. As a result, ICPs may recognize changing patterns or clusters in a hospital or in a community that might otherwise go unrecognized.

ICPs should ensure that hospitals have current telephone numbers for notification of both internal (ICPs, epidemiologists, infectious diseases specialists, administrators, and public affairs officials) and external (state and local health departments, Federal Bureau of Investigation field office, and CDC Emergency Response office) contacts and that they are distributed to the appropriate personnel (9). ICPs should work with clinical microbiology laboratories, on- or off-site, that receive specimens for testing from their facility to ensure that cultures from suspicious cases are evaluated appropriately.

State Health Departments State health departments should implement plans for educating and reminding health-care providers about how to recognize unusual illnesses that might indicate intentional release of a biologic agent. Strategies for responding to potential bioterrorism include 1) providing information or reminders to health-care providers and clinical laboratories about how to report events to the appropriate public health authorities; 2) implementing a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week capacity to receive and act on any positive report of events that suggest intentional release of a biologic agent; 3) investigating immediately any report of a cluster of illnesses or other event that suggests an intentional release of a biologic agent and requesting CDC's assistance when necessary; 4) implementing a plan, including accessing the Laboratory Response Network for Bioterrorism, to collect and transport specimens and to store them appropriately before laboratory analysis; and 5) reporting immediately to CDC if the results of an investigation suggest release of a biologic agent.

Reported by: National Center for Infectious Diseases; Epidemiology Program Office; Public Health Practice Program Office; Office of the Director, CDC.

Editorial Note: Health-care providers, clinical laboratory personnel, infection control professionals, and health departments play critical and complementary roles in recognizing and responding to illnesses caused by intentional release of biologic agents. The syndrome descriptions, epidemiologic clues, and laboratory recommendations in this report provide basic guidance that can be implemented immediately to improve recognition of these events.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, state and local health departments initiated various activities to improve surveillance and response, ranging from enhancing communications (between state and local health departments and between public health agencies and health-care providers) to conducting special surveillance projects. These special projects have included active surveillance for changes in the number of hospital admissions, emergency department visits, and occurrence of specific syndromes. Activities in bioterrorism preparedness and emerging infections over the past few years have better positioned public health agencies to detect and respond to the intentional release of a biologic agent. Immediate review of these activities to identify the most useful and practical approaches will help refine syndrome surveillance efforts in various clinical situations.

Information about clinical diagnosis and management can be found elsewhere (1--9). Additional information about responding to bioterrorism is available from CDC at ; the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at ; the Association for Infection Control Practitioners at ; and the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense at .

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), October 22, 2001.

For precise medical info (as in, they don't recommend enemas) click on Lusenet above, then click on the site "Current Events- Preparations" right under the CS listing. There is a thread there that tells you how to set up a sick room and decon practices as well as practical tips.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), October 22, 2001.