GELDERBLOOM — PHOTORESEARCHERS



Hypothetical Exercise
In June 2001 anti-terrorism authorities held war games, called Dark Winter, to simulate a deliberate aerosol release of smallpox in three U.S. states. Such high level players as former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and James R. Woolsey, former director of the CIA participated, and did not fare well: In the scenario, highly-contagious disease spread to 25 states and 15 other countries within two weeks as the players failed to establish effective quarantines and current vaccine stockpiles proved inadequate.

The Dark Winter exercise has alerted public health officials of the need to promote early detection and the importance of isolating infected individuals, monitoring contacts, and instituting a selective vaccination program.

Safeguards
  • In 1980 the World Health Assembly declared that smallpox has been eradicated. Only two labs in the world officially store smallpox samples, in Atlanta and Koltsovo, Russia. It is possible that these are the only remaining samples.

  • The smallpox vaccine is effective, even up to four days after exposure. Fifteen million doses of smallpox vaccine exist in the U.S. The CDC recently ordered 40 million doses of a new vaccine that will be available in 2004.
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