One of the longest and most contentious international policy debates has swirled around the question of whether to destroy the last known stocks of smallpox (variola) virus, which are preserved at two World Health Organization (WHO)- authorized repositories in Russia and the United States. Although Smallpox was eradicated from nature more than three decades ago, concerns surfaced in the early 1990s that a few countries might have retained undeclared samples of the virus for biological warfare purposes. Because a smallpox outbreak would be a global public health emergency of major proportions, in 1999 the WHO approved a research program at the two authorized repositories to develop improved medical defenses against the disease.
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Bibliography
In preparation for the open
discussion upon Smallpox I have researched the disease by reading; Mckay, B.
(2011) Smallpox- Destruction Deadline Gets Delayed. New York: Dow Jones &
Company. I felt this was a balanced article, reporting on what had happened at
the World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting.
I then chose to read
Hammond, E and Ching, L. (2011) Smallpox Virus Stocks at the 64th WHA:
Implementing the Conclusions of the Major Review. Geneva: Third World Network.
This report documented what was discussed at the WHA, The WHA are in favour of
destroying the smallpox stocks. The document is almost anti Russia and USA,
saying the only reasons why they would keep the stocks are political.
I then found two newspaper
articles Brady, B (2013)£80m 'wasted' on smallpox terror threat. London: Independent
print limited and McNeil, D (2013) Wary
of attack with Smallpox, US buys up a costly drug. New York: Arthur Ochs
Sulzberger, Jr. Both articles were looking into the finance invested into
buying smallpox vaccines, it was interesting to compare and contrast the
articles being published by a British company and an American company. The
British article (Brady, 2013) quotes scientists who believe that Smallpox would
be of no use as a bio-weapon. The American article (McNeil 2013) looks at how
much finance is currently being invested due to current fears of bio-terrorism.
I am in favour of keeping
the remaining Smallpox stocks. There
is potential for Smallpox to be used as a weapon, the possibility of this
happening seems to depend upon which country and expertise are asked.
''It
also required countries aside from the U.S. and Russia to declare to the WHO
that they didn't hold stocks of live smallpox virus. Iran, China, Thailand and
other countries objected to the resolution and wanted an earlier timetable''
(The Wall Street Journal, 2011).
The original research programme in 1999 was to
develop medical defences against the disease, there is still obvious concerns
that countries hold undeclared stocks of the disease who have potential to use
it as a weapon.
''
These viruses do not belong to Russia and the US. They are held by the WHO on
behalf of the countries where they were collected and that deposited them'' (Third
World Network, 2011, page 11).
Having
Smallpox stocks puts the countries in a very powerful political position,
assuming that no other countries have undeclared samples.
"While
the risk of smallpox outbreak may have reduced, there may still be a need for
Smarts. However... a more appropriate and proportionate option would be to
convene Smarts consisting of a registered cohort of unvaccinated or previously
vaccinated healthcare workers who are willing to be (re-)vaccinated quickly in
the event of an emergency." (The Independent, 2013) -The Joint Commitee on Vaccination and
Immunisation.
Whilst
the scientists quoted within the article believe Smallpox would be of no use as
a terrorist weapon, it is obviously of some significance that an advisory
board could see the benefits to having a core group of people such as
Healthcare workers who have been immunized against Smallpox should an emergency
arise. Those who work in healthcare have policies and procedures in place for
every eventuality and though there is not as much media attention to terrorist threats
within Britain presently it would be unwise not to have a predetermined course
of action should an attack take place.
Having
previously no knowledge of Smallpox, the articles I've read have made me aware
of the wider implications the potential eradication of the virus could have.
The political situation between the countries involved in holding the stocks
has a long and complicated history, to understand why there is such animosity
between the two countries further research had to be done to gain some
understanding. Whilst the stocks are being held in laboratories in Russia and
the US, it is giving them more of a political edge. There also concerns that
undeclared samples could be held in countries other than the US and Russia. By
allowing the approved laboratories to keep the stocks and research them further,
this could help the scientific community and health professionals prepare for a
terrorist attack. Though expert’s opinions differ on how likely this is to
happen, there is potential.
I am in favour of keeping the smallpox virus, for
further research to be carried out on the virus. There is potential for it to
be used as a weapon, though different countries cant agree on how likely it is
to happen-or where from.
Bibliography
- · Anon (2013) frequently asked questions and answers on smallpox. Geneva: World Health Organization. [Online]. Available from: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/smallpox/faq/en/index.html [Accessed 20 March 2013].
- · Anon (2013) Smallpox. Washington: National Geographic Society.[Online] Available from: http://science.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science/health-and-human-body/human-diseases/smallpox-article/ [Accessed 20 March 2013].
- · Bernard, K. and Danzig, R (2011) A deadly virus we may still need. New York: Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. [Online] Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/opinion/06iht-edbernard06.html?_r=0 [Accessed 20 March 2013].
- · Brady, B (2013) £80m 'wasted' on smallpox terror threat. London: Independent print limited. [Online]. Available from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/80m-wasted-on-smallpox-terror-threat-8537559.html [Accessed 17 March 2013] .
- · Hammond, E and 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 [Accessed 20 March 2013].
- · Hicks, R. (2009) Smallpox. London: British Broadcasting Corporation. [Online] Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/smallpox1.shtml [Accessed 20 March 2013].
- · Kozlowski, L (2009) Smallpox- the death of a disease; a Q & A with Dr. D. A Henderson. California: Eddy Hartensein [Online]. Available from: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/06/smallpox-the-death-of-a-disease-a-q-a-with-dr-da-henderson-1.html [Accessed 19 March 2013].
- · Mckay, B. (2011) Smallpox- Destruction Deadline Gets Delayed. New York: Dow Jones & Company.[Online] Available from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576343072510493118.html [Accessed 20 March 2013].
- · McNeil, D (2013) Wary of attack with Smallpox, US buys up a costly drug. New York: Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. [Online] Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/health/us-stockpiles-smallpox-drug-in-case-of-bioterror-attack.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 [Accessed 12 March 2013].
- · Trueman, C (2013)What was the cold war [s:l]: Trueman,C. [Online] Available from: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/what%20was%20the%20cold%20war.htm [Accessed 20 March 2013]
- · Weinstein, R (2011) Should remaining stockpiles of smallpox virus (variola) be destroyed? Atlanta: Centers for disease control and prevention. [Online]. Available from: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/4/10-1865_article.htm [Accessed 20 March 2013]
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