Canada Sue's Recommendations on Small Pox Home Care

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I'm cross-posting this from TB2k. I respect Canada Sue, and I think her comments are an important addition to the archives. -- Meemur

Original thread: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10590&highlight=Smallpox

link

Canada Sue writes:

Length warning... lots of issues to deal with when it comes to smallpox. This is "guerilla home nursing, if you will. Please improve on my suggestions. I'm always looking for 'quick & dirty'. "Let's "set this up" first:

Assume first of all, that the reaction from all levels of gummint will be "don't anybody move"... in other words, some kind of lockdown. In this case, I'd heartily approve. Even with a lockdown, realize that other than those researchers who've had reasons to work with smallpox, none of us have valid antibodies left from our childhood vaccines. It will realistically probably be too late to prevent spread.

Also, a lot of info on smallpox historically is a bugger to get. Recent info is tough... the attitude seems to have been "why research a non-issue? This disease has been eliminated." Right. Sure. Whatever. No doubt USAMRIID & other interest groups know some of this stuff & I'm digging my way to China trying to find it...

In a world population unvaccinated, I don't know how many of a hundred people exposed to an infectious amount would get smallpox. There is no doubt some degree of natural immunity; I can't find anything on that... time for me to go digging through old issues of journals.. if they're online; argh!

Never mind that. If as few as ONE case is discovered in your locality, don't set foot outside the house after you hear the news report. I suspect no gummint is gonna say anything until they're ready to enforce "movement restrictions". When they do, assume people are gonna try anyway & get shot & killed. Ignore it. Callous as this sounds, THIS IS NOT YOUR PROBLEM. Your concern is keeping you & yours alive, perferably without having to go through a case of smallpox.

Okay, you've sat down after hearing the news, had your weeping & shaking fit, taken as many cleansing breaths as you need... what are you missing? The only reason you;re going to leave the house is to quickly pick up essentials; assuming you CAN leave the house. Don't do so without gloves, mask & plastic overwrap which you'll shed coming home & which will go into a tub of bleach/water... more on that later.

First thing I'd do if I heard of a case in my area is... clear out a room in my house. I mean completely clear it out, strip it to bare walls, flooring & wood. No carpets, no curtains. Dust down, then wash everything. You'll see why later. Use plastic or other washable blinds. Get rid of the bed. Just put the mattress(es) on the floor lying on some thick plastic. Have the plastic edging long enough to make a sort of small wall. Cover the mattress in plastic. In a pinch, plastic garbage & duct tape work. Make sure you have LOTS of clean linen & I mean lots. Buy it, make it, beg, borrow or steal it... can't have too many sheets, pillow cases, washclothes, rags & towels.

Get lots of plastic basins, pails; whatever. 5 gallon paint type buckets are handy. You'll see why later. Anybody here who curently doesn't have 20 gallons of bleach in the house should. It's cheap. Get some bottle type sprayers... again, can't have too many. While you're at it, lots of permanent markers & more duct tape. A cheap handpump type garden sprayer or 2 is worth its weight in gold. Heck... get three.

Invest heavily in plastic sheeting... thick... or rubber aprons. Fishermens's slickers are an option. You can also & I have; get tons of those cheap drug store rain ponchos... you can do a lot with those & duct tape. You'll see later. Tarpaulins are good, just make sure it's not a "textured" plastic... ya want everything slick & easy to wipe.

Here's how you set up your patient's room, assuming you think you have a case of smallpox. You've emptied it out & set up the matress on the floor. It's as clean as you can manage. Outside the room, which is now a "hot zone", set up a "grey area". Things in there are not considered clean, but are not as dangerous as in the patient's room. In that area, place a 5 gallon bucket gilled with clean water & a couple of good "glug glugs" of bleach. You want the water to really smell of bleach. Mark the pail :"Decon" for decontamination. It's nice to have it sitting on a rubber mat with a lip, to prevent spills. Keep it handy but not close enough to trip over. On a clean table there, you want gloves, masks & overgowns, preferably of rubber or plastic. Lots of garbage bags too for double bagging laundry until you clean it. A flashlight & good strong overhead light or lamp.

Did I mention you'd want to be able to boil lots of water? Make sure you have kettles, pots, whatever. Gonna be lots of laundry in your immediate future. Out in our grey zone, a flashlight is good & perhaps a small table with extra linen. Inside the room, lots of garbage bags & another rubber floor mat with a lip. Also, several spray bottles filled with a mix of 3/4 water to 1/4 bleach. Maybe that's overkill but with what I've learned about variola, I'd not be comfy with less. You also want a supply of drinking water in there & more linen.

Okay, your loved one is sick & you suspect smallpox. IMMEDIATELY get her into your isolation room. She'll be ill, complaining of fever & uncomfortable eyes, kind of like a bad cold or flu. Probably no rash yet, but you know smallpox is around so you can't go wrong presuming that's what it is. While you've told your patient to get into the room, you have stopped where you are... stripped down completely... including ALL jewelry & piercings & places them in a double bag. Bring that with you to the 'grey zone' where you put on some comfy clothing. Yeah, that's the other thing you need out there, clothes for any caregivers... you can there wash glasses, false teeth, anything else you need to wear to function. So a 'clean' bucket for that kind of stuff...

Right, you sat your bag of stuff on top of a bleach/water bucket while you were getting dressed. Spray it with loads of bleach/water & wait several minutes. You can speak to your patient through a CLOSED door. You're having her strip right down & 'wearing' a sheet while you prepare yourself... her clothing & all jewelry & piercings can go into the bag... might be a good idea to have a plastic container with lid to put that kind of stuff in. Include false teeth, glasses & definitely contact lenses. ALL come out/off.

I forgot, inside the room you also have at least one, preferably 2 large plastic buckets with lid, ready to go with water & bleach. If not ready, you can prep them really quickly. Your patients laundry & other items go right into that & stay there for at least 15 minutes. I'm being arbitrary; probably need less but why not 15? Everything out of the bag, unfolded or whatever & into the bleach/water. Don't shake anything, Be very gentle moving stuff... don't wanna spread the virus. Put the bag in too. Gotta think of re-use as much as possible.

Okay, laundry temporarily dealt with, get yer patient comfy. In bed with light, comfy EASY TO WASH & DRY clothing. Be as reassuring & fear free as you can/ If you can't... fake it. You don't need hysteria at this point & if your patient is old enough... she knows what's going on anyway. Many an epidemic almost contained has been lengthened by patients panicking & running out among other people. Nasty though, but you also might want to think of how to lock someone into a room... more on that later.

You'll want a notebok or clipboard. You want some way of keeping track of how your patient is, fever levels, time of any symptoms showing up, etc. Later on when you're dead tired you'll forget when you gave medication or water... trust me on that, you will.

So start by writing the date & time. Take her temperature & note what that is. Mention her mental state. Is she calm or not? Is she mentally "all there", meaning is she or is she in touch with where she is & what's happening. With a flashlight, carefully look over her body. You're looking for rashes. That's how it starts... a red rash kibnd of like chickenpox. Blisters come later.

So what's the rest of the family doing? Hopefully, you have someone else strong, perferably adult. Have them shut down the house... doors, windows, etc. Lock 'em. You don't want someone blundering into a house with smallpox. Have them all mask & glove up. BEFORE changing clothes, have them clean the house. Wipe down everything with a water/bleach mix from one of your umpteen LABELLED sprayers. Tap water is fine... just make sure you didn't skimp on bleach. If smallpox IS in the house this won't get it all, but it increases the odds in your favour. Once that's done, have them change clothing too... into a garbage bag. Someone start laundry using HOT cycles. Add bleach, forget fading. You've got bigger fish to fry.

Have your other strong one feed them all, then set the older kids to doing dishes or something. Now a this stage depending what's going on outside your little world, you may want to "post guards" to advise you of the approach of strangers. Not sure about how I feel about "quarantine" sings. Could backfire if folks decide YOU are the source & they decide to torch your house.. it's happened in the past. Put a few folks to bed; you'll be on shift for a while. Actually a few family meetings discussing all of this held soon is a great idea. If everyone has assigned chores, duties, etc. they feel a bit better.

NO ONE but designated care givers gets into that room for ANY reason... unless it's the gummint at gunpoint or whatever. But keep family & pets out. Virus particles can settle on a pet's fur too. The designated family caretakes, 2 is the minimum you SHOULD have, from now on do NOTHING but care for the sick AND for themselves. You get sloppy when you're tired & hungry.

Okay, you've got all that done. Everyone has been fed & watered, house is clean & everyone is either busy, asleep or resting, or doing other vital chores. Oh yeah, anyone handling 'unbleached laundry' should always be masked/gloved/gowned. Ideally, only caregivers handle it except for when it goes to the washer/dryer. Btw, your room is as close to the patient's as possible. Think of yourself as being in semi-seclusion. Have a radio, tv, book or something else handy for yourself. Book that go into the sickroom don't come out except as a sodden pile of water/bleach soaked paper.

All you have to do at this point, before your patient gets REALLY sick is make sure they rest & eat & drink as much as they can handle. Several chamber pots are good, unless you have an ensuite. Later, they'll be too sick or eat/drink much & they'll need all the strnegth they can get to fight this off. Make them drink lots. Keep track of fever or other symptoms, every 3-4 hours at first. Once they start really breaking with it, you'll be checking constantly. Encourage them to sleep if possible & whatever form of medecine; western, naturopath, homeopath, veterinary... whatever your preference, treat as needed.

Right, 12-72 hours has passed & now it's getting interesting. Your patient feels lousy. She complains of aches/pains, her eyes are sore, she may be nauseated. Treat the symptoms according to your preferences. At some point, she'll have developed a rash. This one tends to begin on the extremities first; that is, hands & feet, then work "in towards the middle". Being covered by a sheet may become annoying or painful. YOu might want to rig, with old coat hangers 3-4 "U" shaped 'sheet racks'. Make sure they ae tall enough to keep sheets off a patients & bend your cobbled together hangers at the bottom, to slip under the mattress. So these are 3-4 "bars" about the width of the bed, about a foot off the surface of the patient & with your "wings" to slip under the mattress about 12-18" long. Can always use duct tape to steady them.

Once the blisters form, your patient won't tolerate much "handling", so touch as little as possible. When in the room, you're fully gloved/gowned & masked anyway. Don't worry about really "washing" them thoroughly, just do the best you can, trying not to break the blisters. Each bit of fluid in the blisters is LOADED with infectious viruses or virions. That's an excellent reason not to pop them, if no other. Keep the face, groin area & armpits clean, again as best you can.

Okay, now the talk is gonna get a bit ugly; sorry but it's an ugly disease. First thing you'll notice I've read, is that this disease STINKS once the blisters form. I've read it's hard to describe but unforgettable. You might want to put your favorite essential oil on your mask, a drop or 2. Lavender works for me as it's also mildly antiseptic. As well as forming all over the skin, the pocs may form inside the eyelids & right on the eyes. Inside the mouth too. They will form inside the anus & vagina... nothing you can do abut that. Do NOT douche your patient or give an enema... just more contaminated stuff hard to get rid of & you may harm rather than help. For the eyes, about all you can do is bathe them using distilled water. So yeah, buy or distill your own water.

Until the pocs start drying up or breaking, don't change the bed linen with abandon. Wait until it's dirty. Your family has enough laundry to do. Oh yeah, after doing any patient/caregiver/sickroom laundry run your washing machine empty with cold water & bleach. Helps keep it safer for family who are not sick yet also need to do laundry. YOur clothing should never leave the patient care eara, that is, your overclothing, the plastic stuff. If you must leave the sick zone, strip off, wash down, (personally I'm not shy about spraying myself with water/bleach), & get into clean clothing. Limit contact with other family/household members. Don't forget to eat & switch off with your co-caregiver. Sleep when you can. Forget the rest of the world. Someone can give you a "highlight package" of significant news a few times a day. Have someone moniter local broadcasts for 'civil defence' instructions & that sort of thing.

Forget getting to a hospital on this. This will spread far, wide & fast. They'll be overwhelmed very quickly. Stay home. There will be lots of 'home nursing' advice given on your local media. If it sounds sensible, quicker, easier, do it. Save YOUR strength.

Plan on someone else in the household catching it from your first patient. They may have been infectious for a day or so before you all catch on that this may be more than a cold. Have another mattress ready to be brought in to your sick room.

As for feeding/watering; LOTS of fluids. Fed them along the lines of light & nourishing, preferably cooling when they have a fever. Treat urine as contaminated & pour it into a bucket with some bleach/water. Let it sit for a bit... 15 minutes?... before it goes into the one designated bathroom toilet. Feces I'd put in the toilet bowl, (careful of any splashing), add some bleach & let sit before flushing into the sewer/septic system.

ALL linen items in the room must soak in 1 bucket of bleach/water before leaving the room. Then wring em out & put them to soak again in your 'grey zone'. Then & only then do they go for washing. Balance the need for freash air against the fact that this sucker is airborne... no easy answers there, I'm afraid.

Needless to say, this is a lousy time to welcome visitors. How you deal with official agencies coming to your door is up to you & how you feel about them. There may be central points to pick up food/water... would be nice, eh? But don't count on it. Smallpox will close down an awful lot of what we take for granted very quickly. Preps are a good thing, a VERY good thing. Food, water, etc may simply not be available. Someone has to harvest it, ship it, can/box it, deliver it, etc. Once a pandemic is really under way... ain't gonna happen, I don't think. I'm not counting on it.

After the rash develops, your patient may have blisters/more rash for up to 3-4 weeks. During all of that time, they're extremely contagious. During the last week, the postules start drying, scabbing & falling off. All that stuff contains virus. Whenever you sweep the floor in the room, lightly spray water/bleach first... anything to keep dust flying. Between uses your broom/dust pan rest in... you got it, a bucket with bleach/water... in the room. You'll need another such bucket with water/bleach mix for dishes. And another smaller one for chamber pots, urinals, thermometers... any medical gear that's not consumable. Label them all.

Once your patient's last scabs are off for a few days, they can 'resume normal', whatever that is by this stage. Others, yourself included, may by now be sick. They take over as best the can... your first patients I mean.

I can't predict what would happen. I strongly feel that a single case will quickly be followed by others & by the time it's discovered, it will be incubating all over the country, all over the world. Modern travel, eh? Plan on it taking a year to 'burn through' the world's population. As well, after a few months, you'll start seeing flu, food poisoning, water contamination... all because people are already weakened & your infrasctructure people, those left on their feet, will be working like stink & some stuff won't be picked up on, especially water treatment & that sort of thing. Of course, there will be opportunists who feel free to whatever they choose. Be prepared to guard you & yours as best you can.

Variola has been documented to survive on letters for a few weeks, then sicken the recipient. It survives on linen, pets, clothing, skin, just about any surface. It's one tough little virus. You & yours will spend a great deal of time wiping, cleaning, scrubbing, etc. That's just the way it has to be to try & minimize the case numbers.

Forget the gummint, forget the hospital system. They'll do their best, but don't anybody kid themselves. They can't cope with a fraction of the number of cases your country could expect. No one could. People with other medical conditions WILL die. NO hospital beds or staff to treat all who need anything in terms of medical care.

So that brings me to the last part... bodies. With such a high fatality rate, you may lose your loved one. YOu will probably have been given instructions on how to notify authorities & what to do. I expect some kind flag of a certain colour hanging will be used to communicate the message that a body has to be recovered. They'll probably be cremated... both to kill the virus & because there's no room to bury that many or people to do it.

There's no specific treatment for smallpox. All you can really do is keep patients as comfy as possible & make sure they eat & drink as much as they can handle. The scarring can be awful & pocs on the eyes results in blindness most of the time. I wouldn't put anything on the pocs to prevent or minimize scarring while the blisters are not dry. The lotion/cream gets transferred to clothing/linen & itself is loaded with virus. Mind, if much of the population is scarred, it's a bit easier to take, I suppose.

Pre-existing medical conditons obviously make smallpox harder to survive. Yeah I know, this makes for depressing reading, but this would be the reality of it.

Important points:

1) you can't clean enough

2) you can't rest enough

3) the gummint can't do enough

4) have to remove all jewelry, piercings, contacts, glasses, hearing aids

5) Label your buckets

6) lots will die

Reading through this, you'll gather a list of what you need to buy that you don't already have. I'm loathe to recommend too many medications. Something for fever, sure but only use it if the fever gets over 103. As nasty as a fever feels, it's an important part of killing off virus internally. Have something for cough & nausea around. Lots of juices & "liquid meals".

And pray...

Written by Canada Sue.



-- Anonymous, October 21, 2001

Answers

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-- Anonymous, October 21, 2001

Of course, we all hope nothing of the sort ever happens, but IF it does, those of us in the South are in a somewhat better position than most. For instance, we don't have to worry so much about winter and could, most of the time, decontaminate outside, using garden hoses and the thick plastic drop cloths and other suggestions outlined above. If we don't have a spare room where we could care for a patient, there is always the possibility of using a large tent on the yard--or even a cleared out, cleaned-up garden shed.

I spent six weeks in that isolation hospital on the moors and it was horrible. All my toys and books had to be burned at home and those I had at the hospital were burned too. Same with my clothes and bed linens. Nothing was familiar. I know I must have suffered trauma--I was only six weeks old and my parents could visit only an hour or so on Sundays; they both worked and couldn't take time off; I know I didn't understand why I was in that place. I do remember wetting the bed, which was excruciatingly embarrassing.

I hate to think that if the terrorists unleash the unthinkable that so many children--adults too--will be frightened and possibly traumatized for life in other isolation hospitals, possibly not very close to home.

George Bush, the Cabinet, the military, law enforcement, health personnel, state and local governments--my God, they all have to be so vigilant, so perfect in all they do now--we too. I don't want to think about it but, as has been proven so dreadfully, awfully clearly, unspeakable things may yet occur again. We have to read this stuff--we may need it.

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2001


Our grandparents and great grandparents survived all manner of plagues and other assorted nasties. There is no doubt in my mind that many of us will, too.

But we need to educate ourselves. Survival is one part luck and three parts education.

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2001


Ok, now I'm really scared. I have two girls 3 1/2, and 6. The six year old is in school. And it would be me to do all this with no family around but DH. Ei-yi-yi ! OG, may I be so bold as to respectfully ask what you were isolated with that they burned all of your possessions? Must have been so scary for you at that age. I'm only 36, so I suffered through only chickenpox, measles, mumps, etc. And all of that between '65 and '75, when all was thought conquered by drugs, and our "free" universal health care system here in Canada. Oh my, just had the thought...our furnace is forced-air oil burning. Probably wouldn't be wise for that to be running....

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2001

" For instance, we don't have to worry so much about winter and could, most of the time, decontaminate outside, using garden hoses and the thick plastic drop cloths and other suggestions outlined above. If we don't have a spare room where we could care for a patient, there is always the possibility of using a large tent on the yard--or even a cleared out, cleaned-up garden shed."

Old Git, that is a great idea!

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2001



RB, we doomers like to examine worst case scenarios. Yes, there is a good possibility for a bio-attack, but until I hear about a confirmed small pox case in the US, I'm not going to get my panties in a twist. I'm preparing as well as I can under the circumstances, and beyond that, I have to trust in God. That's the difference between educating one's self about possibilities, prepping for them, and then letting go. Dwelling on "What If's" for any length of time is depressing.

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2001

rb, it was scarlet fever. There were all sorts of nasty things still around when I was a child.

Meemur is right--we don't spend 24/7 dwelling on this doom'n gloom stuff. For instance, I just watched the first part of "Victoria and Albert." Nicely done!

The emergency preps I have were started by experience with deprivations after Hurricane Fran (although we did have a good stash of stuff to help out even then, unlike most people around here), and Barefoot was similarly (and even more) affected by Andrew. Then came the Y2K scare. Y2K served as a catalyst for many of us. We had always meant to get our disaster stash organized and keep up with it but had never gotten around to it. Y2K gave us a deadline. We got in the habit of keeping a certain amount of supplies around, although I think most of us have a bit less than we did for Y2K.

Now we have the possibility of further terrorist attacks. Could be attacks on the food or water supply, the power grid, a more virulent bioterrorism attack--who knows what will come next? As long as people don't go overboard and invest in those expensive (and sometimes barely edible) dried food plans, it doesn't hurt to stash cans and boxes of stuff you normally eat and use.

Okay, okay, so the Hungarian still doesn't need toilet paper, lol. She overestimated. But look at all the money she's saved since 1999! TP has gone up! As for the overabundance of Twining's I have--well, today it was on sale for $2.29--and I bought a ton of it for $1.79 on sale two years ago! I did buy Millstone coffee today--it was on sale, $5.99 for a 12-oz vac pack. (And I have in my stash a manual coffee grinder I picked up for $3 at a yard sale). Bush's beans were on sale for a good price and I bought a few cans of those too. I also bought a jar of Thai peanut sauce to help the TVP go down better. And, yep, I bought more toilet paper, lol!

All this is a matter of security. With all this stuff around, I know I don't have to go to the store for a couple of months. I ought to plant some salad stuff too--I can keep it going through our usually mild winters with lots of bubble wrap to protect it.

Knowledge really is power, as Meemur says. If you have a good stash and you know you won't have to go out in crowds if an epidemic breaks out or if a bridge or something is bombed, you don't worry about a terrorist attack so much. If you invest a few bucks in thick plastic dropcloths, disposable masks, gloves and several gallons of bleach, well, you haven't spent a bundle and you can probably use the stuff sooner or later. And you print out Canada Sue's suggestions just in case--that's security too. As people around here know (and they roll their eyes whenever I type it), better to have and not need than the other way around.

A warning--the Hungarian has a Master's in nursing and has been in the business about 25 years. She couldn't remember a thing about smallpox, except it's highly contagious and leaves terrible scars. She's very aware and intelligent so if she doesn't know, well, the majority of the rest of the medical profession doesn't know anything, either. Just having that stuff printed off and filed away will make you feel better. Kinda like a fire extinguisher--you may never need it but that one time when you do, it may protect you from serious burns.

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2001


My grandmother is nearly 90. She told me how her grandfather caught smallpox from the barber shop. A smallpox patient had come in for a shave, and they believed the cloth used to drape around his neck was used by her grandfather next.

Her grandfather was a grown many with children, although not elderly at the time. He survived with scarring and weak eyes. No one else in the family caught it.

All of the precautions above are good suggestions. However, if you can't do it exactly that way, remember that with good hygiene and as much isolation as you can manage, the disease will not wipe out the whole country. We'll be sick as dogs, though, sick as dogs.

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2001


Meemur, OG: Hope you don't think you're scaring me. I was born a doomer. And a planner...lists, lists, where are my lists. I was raised in the "bush", so munchies meant creating in the kitchen, not going to the store. I used to make mean potato chips! Just gonna' stock up on basics for several weeks, if necessary. Also basic meds for fever and pain. One consolation: I research family history, and with all of my lines going back to the 1700's, I've never come across a death due to smallpox. Diptheria, Typhus, Cholera, yes, Smallpox no. Not to mention that I've not heard of any major North American epidemics of Smallpox, except for the Natives, way back when. Anyway, just didn't want you to think you were spookin' me.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2001

"In a world population unvaccinated, I don't know how many of a hundred people exposed to an infectious amount would get smallpox. There is no doubt some degree of natural immunity; I can't find anything on that..."

When Europe introduced smallpox into the Americas, it wiped out 80- 90% of the population in many areas. Of course, we know so much more know, like what a contagion is, but still potentially very deadly.

The amount of bleach that Canada Sue recommends makes me think that those on private septic will be in trouble. You'll kill off your bacterial population pretty quickly. Better have some way to restore it.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2001



rb, nobdy in my family, going back to the late 1800s, had diabetes either and none of the numerous extended family members shows any signs of it! Seriously, I'm glad you're not too spooked. It's hard to adhere to that line between caution and spooking. We're a mite sensitive about spooking people-we were constantly lashed with accusations of panicking the populace re Y2K (which was untrue for most of us).

BTW, cholera is spread by fecal contamination of water supply, I believe. I don't know very much about that, either. Gawd, I wish PA would get back here, he knows all this stuff!

Anyway, about your family history. I would suspect the major reason there was no smallpox or other contagious disease in your background is because of the remote locations of your ancestors and the lack of travel in those days. I believe most of the great epidemics took place in cities, where diseases could spread like wildfire. I would guess that the isolation hospital I spent time in was originally meant for victims of such epidemics, as it served the population of one of the best-known Industrial Revolution cities--Sheffield. We also had a TB hospital in the city, still active when I was a child. Could be it was kept on for those who devloped TB in WWII, perhaps soldiers returning from parts of the world where it was rampant.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2001


"I've not heard of any major North American epidemics of Smallpox, except for the Natives, way back when."

Plenty of smallpox epidemics in the Old World. Servants with visible pocks were considered more valuable because it meant they had already developed immunity. The usual ways, people would panic, move on, and spread it further. Folks who came here from Europe had a level of immunity among that population. It wasn't just North America. Smallpox was the main reason that the Spaniards "conquered" South and Latin America so quickly. Essentially, they sent the disease out ahead of them, so there wasn't much resistance.

Guns, Germs & Steel (by Jared Diamond) is a great book on some of these issues, in particular why it is primarily the Europeans who have taken over so much of the world. Their prior immunities were a major factor.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2001


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