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Thursday, August 29, 2002MORE UPDATE: Researchers say the old smallpox vaccine may have left us more immune than we assume. Whew. But wait, that's only among cells in a lab dish. Apply to life with caution: Old vaccination can protect against death from smallpox and can modify the course of illness. But health officials say they face a more important consideration in preparing for a bioterrorist attack — even a mild case can transmit the smallpox virus and perpetuate an epidemic. "You can't draw conclusions in the real world from the data" from the North Carolina tests, said Dr. Frank Fenner of the University of Canberra in Australia. Dr. Fenner is an author of the textbook "Smallpox and Its Eradication," published by the World Health Organization. Another author of the textbook, Dr. D. A. Henderson, who led the health organization's smallpox eradication effort and who is now a top government adviser on bioterrorism, said he had "no idea" how the new findings correlated with protection against natural exposure to smallpox. Dr. Henderson said it was "perfectly obvious that one successful vaccination does not protect for a lifetime." ..."It would be foolhardy to rely on any vaccination more than three years old as solid protection," said Dr. J. Donald Millar, a former head of the smallpox eradication program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. posted by Sydney on 8/29/2002 07:33:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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