{"id":507,"date":"2016-05-17T20:05:02","date_gmt":"2011-05-17T20:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.edrugstore.md\/blog\/?p=507"},"modified":"2011-05-17T20:05:52","modified_gmt":"2011-05-17T20:05:52","slug":"small-pox-vaccines-l0517","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/current-health-news\/small-pox-vaccines-l0517\/","title":{"rendered":"Should small pox vaccines be destroyed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Small pox, a contagious and\u00a0sometimes life threatening disease is described as \u201cone of the most devastating diseases known to humanity,\u201d by the World Health Organization (WHO).\u00a0\u00a0 The disease is believed to have originated more than 3,000 years ago and is known for covering a patient\u2019s body with small bumps.\u00a0 After an intense vaccine initiative the disease was eradicated in 1978, according to the World Health Organization.<\/p>\n

Now, decade\u2019s later small pox vaccines still sit on the shelves.\u00a0 While children are no longer vaccinated against the disease, the vaccines are doing nothing more than collecting dust and some health officials are wondering if they should be destroyed.<\/p>\n

There are two sides of this argument.\u00a0 Some believe the vaccines should be kept just in case the disease is used as a weapon by terrorists.\u00a0 Having the vaccine on hand would help battle an outbreak.\u00a0 Others believe the lingering bottles of vaccine could create more problems than answers.<\/p>\n

“We fully agree that these samples should – and eventually will – be destroyed,” Secretary of Health and Human services Katherine Sibelius wrote in a recent op-ed in the International Herald Tribune. “However, we also recognize that the timing of this destruction will determine whether we continue to live with the risk of the disease re-emerging through deliberate misuse of the virus by others.”<\/p>\n

There is also a question of the potency of the vaccines after sitting around for decades, and storage conditions could also be a factor.<\/p>\n

The WHO has talked about what to do with the vaccines\u00a0since 1996.\u00a0 A plan has been drafted to destroy them, but the process is continually delayed to give scientists more time to develop better drugs against the disease.<\/p>\n

The topic is up for debate again at an assembly being held by WHO.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/a>About Small Pox<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the WHO website small pox killed about 30% of those infected.\u00a0 Survivors were often marked with deep scars from the bumps caused by the disease, most notably on the face.\u00a0 The disease was so prevalent that in ancient times babies were not allowed to be named until they lived through the disease.<\/p>\n

In 1967, when WHO launched an intensified plan to eradicate smallpox, the “ancient scourge” threatened 60% of the world’s population, killed every fourth victim, scarred or blinded most survivors, and eluded any form of treatment.<\/p>\n

There is no cure for the disease, just a vaccine to prevent it.\u00a0 The vaccine was no longer given once the disease was wiped out in the late 70\u2019s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Small pox, a contagious and\u00a0sometimes life threatening disease is described as \u201cone of the most devastating diseases known to humanity,\u201d by the World Health Organization (WHO).\u00a0\u00a0 The disease is believed to have originated more than 3,000 years ago and is known for covering a patient\u2019s body with small bumps.\u00a0 After an intense vaccine initiative the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-health-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t