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To: long-gone who wrote (70922)	6/1/2001 8:48:01 AM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116759

Doom & Gloom report Just imagine how a highly contagious disease might adversely impact our service economy? U.S. on Bioterrorism Alert for Smallpox NewsMax.com Wires Friday, June 1, 2001 LOS ANGELES (UPI) - Los Angeles, Chicago and New York are putting smallpox back on their lists of reportable diseases. The action comes as part of a coordinated effort to identify as early as possible any bioterrorist attacks in the United States. The last known case of smallpox in the world occurred in 1977, and immunization shots are no longer given. Most physicians in the United States have never seen a case of smallpox. Until placed back on the list of reportable diseases, it is unlikely that any health professional would even consider smallpox when making a diagnosis. All that will change in the cities receiving three-year grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After someone is exposed to the smallpox virus, the incubation period is between seven and 17 days and usually starts with fever and headache and general fatigue. Then lesions appear that are somewhat similar to chicken pox, usually starting on the face and legs and progressing to the rest of the body. The sores are deeper than chicken pox and leave scars. It becomes communicable from the time of appearance of the first sores until all scabs from the sores have disappeared, which could be two or three weeks. The disease is spread by droplets in aerosol form. Usually about 20 to 40 percent of the cases are fatal, though modern intensive care may reduce mortality rates. Smallpox is unique. According to Peter Katona, assistant professor of medicine at UCLA who works with the Los Angeles health department on bioterrorism issues, one case would be an epidemic. "Smallpox is extremely highly contagious. You don't get one case. You get a lot of cases .... There is no immunity in the community .... It spreads like wildfire .... There's nothing like smallpox. It's incredibly contagious. There are cases where people were walking down the street a hundred yards away, outside a building and they got it .... It's an airborne pathogen." Patients would need to be placed in isolation, preferably in a room with a negative air pressure, to avoid dispersal. Plans would need to be made for vaccine distribution, ambulances, overloaded hospitals and dealing with the media, Katona told United Press International - a scenario he described as "utter chaos." Jonathon E. Fielding, director of public health for Los Angeles County, told UPI: "The earlier we can find the problem the less overall damage will occur from spread. If you look at what has happened in Africa with ebola, for example(cont) newsmax.com