Smallpox: could a deadly disease—declared eradicated on Earth—come back to haunt humans as a bioweapon?

Science World, March 7, 2003 by Michael Stroh

DEBATE IT: A voluntary public vaccination program may begin next year. Should every American be vaccinated? Should there be exceptions? Would you want to be vaccinated?

Did You Know?

* The word variola was coined around 580 A.D. to describe smallpox from the Latin "mark on the skin," the pus-filled blisters that are the hallmark of the disease.

* In 980, the Arab scientist Rhazes wrote that while smallpox was transmitted from person to person, survivors never developed it again--the first scientific theory of acquired immunity.

* In January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) upgraded 3,000 air-quality monitoring devices around the country--which normally measure air pollution--to additionally detect smallpox, anthrax, and other pathogens within 24 hours of their release.

Cross-Curricular Connection

History: Research a well-known historical figure who contracted smallpox and write a brief report about his or her experience with the disease.

Critical Thinking:

Smallpox was officially declared eradicated in 1980. Why do you think two laboratories--one in the U.S. and one in Russia--kept samples of the virus that causes the disease?

Resources

Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox, Jonathan B. Tucker, Grove Press, 2002

"Smallpox: Your Questions Answered," Time Online Edition, December 13, 2002

www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,399780,00.html

"Smallpox: The Triumph over the Most Terrible of the Ministers of Death," Annals of Internal Medicine, October 15, 1997

www.acponline.org/journals/annals/15oct97/smallpox.htm

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

Directions: Circle the correct answer(s) to complete the sentence.

1. Smallpox was declared (a global threat, eradicated, under control) after 1977, when a natural case appeared in (the U.S., Russia, Somalia).

2. Vaccines work by stimulating the body's (immune, digestive, respiratory) system.

3. Smallpox is (contagious, fatal). Inspiration for Dr. Edward Jenner's breakthrough vaccination came from (chicken pox, cowpox).

4. Most experts believe the threat of smallpox as a bioweapon is (slim, high, very high.)

ANSWERS

1. eradicated, Somalia 2. immune 3. slim 4. contagious, fatal; cowpox