Once called the most terrible of all the ministers of death, SmallPox was once a major killer
disease, wiping out swathes of the human population.
Smallpox was eradicated by 1979, but, what if it came back?
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, I am Rebecca Felgate and today
we are asking What if We Had Another Smallpox Outbreak?
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and hit that like button if you enjoy our content.
Smallpox was a savage killer.
In the 20th Century alone, it killed between 300-500 million people, but after British
Doctor, Edward Jenner, found a cure and pioneered vaccines, gradually the disease was eliminated.
By 1972, most countries stopped handing out the vaccine to children and by the 1980s,
it was obsolete.
But, what if it came back?
While there has not been a smallpox case in almost 40 years, smallpox still exists at
a small handful of laboratories across the world.
These labs are closely guarded, but mistakes do happen; in 1978, a British microbiologist
accidentally let the disease loose, killing a woman and sparking a scare across both sides
of the Atlantic.
This woman, Janet Parker, was the last known person to die of the disease.
The important things you should have picked up on so far are that vaccinations stopped
over 40 years ago, and that laboratories do still have the disease under lock and key.
Interesting.
This means that the disease could maliciously be unleashed.
There has also been some suggestion in the science community that some biologists may
be able to create a synthetic strain of Smallpox.
Recently, Canadian researchers managed to recreate Horsepox with some mail order DNA
and a little seed money.
Worrying, as this means scientists may be able to recreate the killer human version.
Real or synthetic, somebody could in theory get their hands on the disease and use it
in biological warfare.
If somebody did contract Smallpox, via whatever means, a lot of us would be in big danger.
While the older population who have been vaccinated would be fine, those of us who haven’t been
would have cause for concern.
Doctors would to their best to contain an outbreak, and there would be mass quarantines.
If the outbreak did turn into a global pandemic, then those under the age of 40 will be at
the greatest risk.
Those who contract smallpox will start to see an acute onset of fever, then red spots
will appear all over the body, especially on the face.
These will then turn into blisters filled with fluid.
When these pop, those who survive will be left with deep pitted scars.
Last we knew it, Smallpox’s main form, the Variola major, had a mortality rate of 30%,
so many millions of people could be at risk of dying, and many millions more being scarred
for life.
Of course, it goes without saying, those of us in first world countries with excellent
healthcare will have a better chance of survival than those living in developing nations.
With the potential death of so many young people, the world may be left with a higher
percentage of older people, wiping out generations beneath them, which would be very sad and
may have lasting issues for them in later life, with less young and able bodied people
to care for them in older age.
If Smallpox ever did break out, the World Health Organisation would act quickly.
The good thing is, that this time, we already know how to vaccinate against the disease,
so quick action would be taken to inoculate youngsters who have not yet come into contact
with the disease.
Even those who have been exposed to the pox stand a chance if they can receive vaccination
within three days.
While there is no sure for Smallpox, vaccination, even when you have already been exposed to
the disease, can offer some protection or adjust the severity of the effects on your
body.
Of course, mass vaccination and medical care in this way would be very expensive, and maybe
economically crippling.
So, that is what would happen if we had another smallpox outbreak….do you have anything
to add?
Perhaps the calamity in this answer suggests that we need to be well prepared at all times
for any kind of accidental or intentional outbreak of ancient diseases.
Is what is gone ever truly gone?
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I am Rebecca Felgate, I’ll see you in the next video, but for now…stay curious, stay
alert and never ever stop questioning.
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