Smallpox last paragraph

Smallpox was one of the most devastating disease human kind has ever faced. It killed millions of people and left many with scars and blindness. it is quite possible that the disease might re-emerge even after it was eradicated from the society 30 years ago in 1980. Due to current technology with information available freely online, bioterrorism can occur and also some other pox viruses can mutate resulting in devastating effects. Smallpox occurred and the world beat it so in order to be ready and be prepared to beat it again, the virus needs to be kept and studied so that hopefully a cure can be created. The cure could help most of the worlds population now which has no immunity to the disease since the routine vaccinations were stopped 30 years ago. If an outbreak occurs like now, there might not be enough effective vaccine for global supply. Therefore, keeping it will enable the creation of more supplies to cater for worldwide consumption. Destroying it now will mean that the future generation will be at risk if the virus re-emerges, therefore, that risk is not worth taking now.

Smallpox paragraph 3

It is important to keep the smallpox virus so as to continue researching medicines in case a bioterror attack is to happen using smallpox (McKay 2011). Due to the United States terrorist attacks of September 2001 and some prospects of bioterrorism, the smallpox can be an effective weapon as it kills and spreads so easily to kill almost a third of people it infects. Therefore keeping the virus could be also for defence purposes. Moreover, the researchers need more time to study about the disease and how it works. This can be beneficial in case the virus mutates to form a very virulent one with different symptoms than the smallpox and could spread easily from one person to another (Connor 1993).
Another reason for keeping the virus will be for the development of vaccines and antiviral medications (McKay 2011). In addition, Hammond et al (2011) stated that the World Health Assembly authorized the keeping of the smallpox samples for 'essential public health research for the development of new antiviral drugs'. Hammond et al (2011) also mentioned that currently there are two primary drugs for the treatment of smallpox infection, the ST-246 and CMX001 which have been effective in experiments with animals as there are no human cases to study at the moment. the antiviral drugs only work to treat those people exposed to the variola virus before vaccines could be given. If smallpox reinfection occurs, the results could be very devastating, therefore, the virus need to be kept to examine in the hope of creating vaccines and other cures. This could help also poorer countries with fewer resources to treat a potential outbreak.

Smallpox paragraph 2

Smallpox is a serious contagious and sometimes can be a very fatal infectious disease. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2004), smallpox is a name derived from Latin word for 'spotted' which refers to raised bumps that appear on the face and body of an infected person. There are two clinical forms of smallpox namely Variola major and Variola minor. Variola major  is the severe and most common form of smallpox. its symptoms will be  more extensive rash and higher fever and has an overall fatality rate of about 30%. Variola minor is a less common form of smallpox and a much less severe disease with fatality rate of 1% or less. Smallpox was spread by inhaling virus particles from an infected person. The incubation period is between  7 and 17 days between infection and appearances of symptoms ((Jenkins 2009).

                                                   
Outbreaks of smallpox have been occurring from time to time for thousands of years (CDC 2004). In the 20t century alone, smallpox killed more than 300 million people but due to a successful worldwide vaccination program the disease was eradicated in society in 1980. The last naturally occurring case was in Somalia in 1977 (Connor 1993). Routine vaccination against smallpox among the general public was stopped because it was no longer necessary to prevent the disease. According to McKay (2011), there are only two countries that have  the smallpox samples in a frozen state, Russia and United States. However, some experts still allege that not all of the variola stocks have been accounted for.

SMALLPOX 1

Paragraph 1

Smallpox has been one of the most controversial topics in medicine regarding whether it is worth destroying or keeping it. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the arguments surrounding smallpox as some think it is good and some think it is bad having it around. This essay is going to look at the arguments to support the fact that will include the fact that smallpox is needed for future smallpox should be kept. Some of the reasons will include the fact that smallpox is needed for future research which can help to cure some other diseases. Moreover, it can also mutate to another virus so if it is destroyed, it can cause a lot more damage in the case of re-emerging. Some of the information that will be used in this essay will be taken from Betsy McKay, May 25 2011, smallpox - destruction deadline gets delayed, published by The Wall street Journal and Edward Hammond, Lim Li Ching, Smallpox virus stocks at the 64th WHA: Implementing the Conclusions of the Major Review, Third World Network 2011

Ebola disease

Ebola Virus
Ebola virus originated from Zaire now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Infectious Disease Fact Sheet

Name of disease	EBOLA
Name of causative agent	Virus
Type of microbe R	Bacterium        Eukaryote        virus        Provirus VIRUS
If Bacterial:
·      Gram-reaction
·      Cell shape and arrangement
If Eukaryotic: R	Alga    Protozoa    Platyhelminth    Nematode    Fungus
·      Multicellular or Unicellular
If Viral: R	DNA        +Strand RNA        -Strand RNA        Retrovirus The virus is negative strand RNA
·      Naked or Enveloped	Enveloped
·      Formation of Provirus	Filoviridae  (filovirus)
Epidemiology:
·      Geographic Prevalence	Africa; Zaire NOW KNOWN AS Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Uganda, Sudan, Cote d,Ivore, Ivory Coast, Reston
·      Average rates of infection	Approximately 90% fatality rate
·      Reservoir(s)	The natural reservoir of the virus is unknown, the manner in which the virus first appears in a human at the start of an outbreak has not been determined. However, researchers have hypothesized that the first patient becomes infected through contact with an infected animal.
·      Main transmission mode(s)	Direct contact with blood body fluids and tissues of infected people. Handling sick or dead infected animals (monkeys, gorillas, chimpanzees, fruit bats, forest antelope
Pathology:
·      Major tissues/organs affected	Liver, spleen, thyroid gland, kidney, skin, brain, lungs, pancreas
·      Major signs/symptoms	Sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, A rash, red eyes, hiccups and internal and external bleeding may be seen in some patients
·      Sequalae?	Orchitis, arthralgia, myalgia, desquamation or alopecia
·      Latency?	2 days or as long as 21 days.
Treatment:
·      Main treatment methods	There is no standard treatment for Ebola HF. Treatment is primarily supportive and includes minimizing invasive procedures, balancing electrolytes, and, since patients are frequently dehydrated, replacing lost coagulation factors to help stop bleeding, maintaining oxygen and blood levels, and treating any complicating infections
·      Typical length of treatment	unknown
·      Prophylactic measures	Wearing of protective clothing, such as masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles; the use of infection-control measures, including complete equipment sterilization; and the isolation of Ebola HF patients from contact with unprotected persons.