Smallpox: Save or Destroy

Smallpox stocks: Save or Destroy?

To decide on whether I would save the remaining supplies of smallpox or destroy them, I have studied Smallpox Virus: Crunch Time For The Fate Of A Global Killer, Robin McKie and Gabriel Stargardter, 13^th February 2011, The Observer; Smallpox Should Be Saved, Nature, Nature Publishing Group, 20^th January 2011; Smallpox- Destruction Deadline Gets Delayed, Betsy Mckay, Dow Jones & Company, Inc., 25^th May 2011; Smallpox Virus Stocks at the 64^th WHA: Implementing the Conclusions of the Major Review, Edward Hammond and Lim Li Ching, Third World Network; Should the US and Russia destroy their Smallpox Stocks? James Gallagher, BBC, 16th May, 2011.  Throughout my research I have read arguments both for and against the destruction of the remaining phials of the smallpox virus, which are held in Novosibirsk, Siberia and Vector, United States of America. I have been impressed by the arguments for the destruction of the virus but I think the case for keeping supplies of the variola virus is much greater than the argument to destroy them.

When you consider the current political climate in the Middle East, I think it would be extremely foolish to eradicate the phials of smallpox; we must promote any chance of successfully defending the world in the event of a bio-terror attack. With the ever increasing unrest in places such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and the growing tension in North Korea, the threat of a biological attack may never have been greater. Therefore, it is my view that we must use the existing live virus to improve our knowledge and deal with any eventuality. According to McKie and Stargardter (2011) the Russians say that in the 1990’s, Iran tried to recruit some of the scientists from Vector and may have succeeded on a couple of occasions. Although scientists would be able to build the virus from scratch, I think that if the supplies that current research is carried out on were to cease, we would be at a distinct disadvantage. By continuously working with the virus, I believe scientists maintain an up to date knowledge and if the world suffered another outbreak, or an attack, the supplies and current knowledge are already there to quickly retaliate.    

As well as maintaining our knowledge of this virus, we should also refrain from destroying the remaining phials because more medical research must be carried out on the virus. Professor Geoffrey Smith led a review of The State Of Scientific Research on behalf of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which was published in 2010 (2011). Smith said that there had been “remarkable advances” in tests for smallpox but when considering new drugs and vaccines, it has proved more difficult because of the lack of human sufferers to try them out on (Gallagher, 2011). The lack of trials to test the drugs has made it difficult to define an endpoint (Gallagher, 2011). According to the WHO, smallpox was eradicated in 1980 after a successful worldwide eradication programme (2013). This has resulted in 40% of the world’s population having no immunity (Nature, 2011). I think this fact alone is particularly concerning and is indicative that we must keep on top of current vaccines and potential treatments in case of another outbreak.

I must admit, I was initially in favour of the destruction of the remaining phials of smallpox because of my distrust of the American and Russian governments. It is my personal opinion that they are both arrogant, unreasonable and share a complete disregard for peacekeeping agencies such as the United Nations (UN). They proved this with their disproportionate, brutal knee- jerk reactions to the Twin Tower attacks in 2001 and the Georgian invasion of South Ossetia in 2008. However, due to the increased risk of a bioweapon attack, I would rather have those two countries on our side with their financial support and expertise. I believe the benefits far outweigh the risks when it comes to keeping the existing supplies. It would be unforgiveable if they were destroyed and we had a biological attack killing innocent people which could potentially have been avoided. More weight is added to this argument when you consider that other countries may be hiding stocks of the same virus. Having read about the security measures in place at the World Health Organisation sites that hold the smallpox virus, I think there is little risk of it falling into the wrong hands. Therefore, I think scientists must be able to keep their finger on the pulse and improve their knowledge of smallpox.  

Reference List

Anon. (2011). Smallpox Should Be Saved. Nature.  Vol. 469. (265). [Online] Available from: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v469/n7330/full/469265a.html [Accessed: 20 March 2013]

Gallagher, J. (2011). Should the US and Russia Destroy Their Smallpox Stocks? BBC News 16 May 2011. [Online] Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13360794 [Accessed: 20 March 2013]

McKie, R. and Stargardter, G. (2011), Smallpox Virus: Crunch Time For The Fate Of A Global Killer. The Observer. 13 February 2011. [Online] Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/feb/13/smallpox-virus-vector-health-terror [Accessed: 20 March 2013]

World Health Organization. (2013). The Smallpox Eradication Programme - SEP (1966-1980) [Online] Available from: http://www.who.int/features/2010/smallpox/en/index.html [Accessed: 20 March 2013]

Bibliography

Anon. (2011) Should Smallpox Samples In The USA and Russia Be Destroyed? Medical News Today. 17 May 2011. [Online] Available from:  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/225616.php [Accessed: 20 March 2013]

Anon. (2011). Smallpox Should Be Saved. Nature.  Vol. 469. (265). [Online] Available from: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v469/n7330/full/469265a.html [Accessed: 20 March 2013]

Gallagher, J. (2011). Should the US and Russia Destroy Their Smallpox Stocks? BBC News 16 May 2011. [Online] Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13360794 [Accessed: 20 March 2013]

Learning Resource Centres. (2005). Harvard Referencing. [Unpublished Presentation] Doncaster College.

McKie, R. and Stargardter, G. (2011), Smallpox Virus: Crunch Time For The Fate Of A Global Killer. The Observer. 13 February 2011. [Online] Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/feb/13/smallpox-virus-vector-health-terror [Accessed: 20 March 2013]

Spillius, A. (2011). ‘We Must Keep Smallpox Stocks’ US and Russia Tells World Health Organization. The Telegraph. 18 January 2011. [Online] Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8267370/We-must-keep-smallpox-stocks-US-and-Russia-tells-World-Health-Organisation.html [Accessed: 20 March 2013]

World Health Organization. (2013). Frequently Asked Questions And Answers On Smallpox. [Online] Available from: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/smallpox/faq/en/index.html [Accessed: 20 March 2013]

World Health Organization. (2013). The Smallpox Eradication Programme - SEP (1966-1980) [Online] Available from: http://www.who.int/features/2010/smallpox/en/index.html [Accessed: 20 March 2013]