| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| Smallpox in NWFP |
| 2002-06-10 |
| It has been reported from different parts of the Swabi district that a large number of children have suffered from smallpox, but the authorities concerned have failed to take any action to prevent this disease or immunize the people against it. A health official said that the dilemma of the people was that they were not aware of the danger aspects of this ailment as the children suffering from it have neither been kept in isolation nor properly treated. And this resulted in the spread of the virus. Ummm... Smallpox in its natural state is all but wiped out in the civilized world... The residents of Naro Banda, a rural area in the district, told this correspondent that a majority of the children in the village had suffered from smallpox a few years back. "My two brothers, Shams and Akhtar, have been afflicted by smallpox and I have appealed to the officials concerned, but they did not bother either to visit the area or take steps for controlling it," said Mukhtaj Ahmad of Naro Banda. "A few years back"! The mother of a sick child said she had informed the lady health workers about the spread of the disease four days ago, but no action was taken. It was also noticed that most of the parents of the sick children were uneducated. They had either approached the quack living nearby, or the self-made homeopath doctors to treat the children, but no visible improvement could be seen in the health of the children. If the district health department delayed taking steps for containing the disease, the epidemic may spread to other areas in the vicinity, or the whole of the district, for that matter. The suffering people have appealed to the NWFP governor, district government bosses and health officials to send in special teams to extend necessary health cover to the children. This being Pakistan, where they shoot doctors rather than controlling disease, this could be a natural outbreak of a disease that the civilized world has almost forgotten. F'rinstance, Pak Moms still have to worry about their kids catching polio (Pakistan, India and Afghanistan together account for 70% of the world's polio cases), and if things are going to be unsanitary NWFP's the place for them to be. On the other hand, we can't help but notice that the al-Qaeda and Taliban have pretty much moved to new digs in NWFP. Presumably they've brought their little research projects with them... Followup: Instapundit and MedPundit both saw the story. MedPundit thinks it might be monkeypox or something along those lines. I will retain my suspicions because of the heavy infestation of loons in the general area. Followup to followup: Kat's got it, too, and prob'ly everyone else to follow... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #5 If you look at http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/fis/courses/lis2102/KO.WHO.case.html you'll find the WHO history of smallpox eradication. This is one of the true medical hero stories of the 20th century. I'm extremely skeptical that the illness in NWFP is smallpox. However, smallpox, especially when full-blown, is not easily mistaken for other viral exanthems. So the possibilities are 1) they're wrong 2) the WHO missed a spot (ooops) or 3) it's a non-indigenous virus brought in by someone else -- the sort of suspicions we all have. Not that I'd cry if the virus wiped out a whole bunch of jihadis, but the thought that smallpox might be reintroduced into the civilized world (e.g., not Pak-land) frightens me. The U.S. stocks of smallpox are very closely guarded and I'd be surprised if it came from there. But the Russian stocks, as I recall from news reports in the past, were less well handled. If it's monkeybox or similar weaponized virus, it's the harbinger of real problems. What say we have a Delta team escort a couple of smart medical people into the area and take a look? This needs attention. Regards, |
| Posted by: Steve White 2002-06-10 19:55:52 |
| #4 I tend to think with MedPundit that it's a monkeypox (or one of the other similar ones). Since they aren't getting any doctors to look at it, I'm not at all confident in the diagnosis. On the other hand, the location would be handy for al Qaida and their labs. Or it could be a wild strain. I always took that "we eradicated it" statement with a large grain of salt. The claim should be looked into by CDC, WHO, or someone who can properly diagnose whatever it is. |
| Posted by: Kat 2002-06-10 16:39:45 |
| #3 NWFP has some pretty remote areas, and since the "health care professionals" treating it are quacks and homeopaths, it could be a wild strain that's survived. It could also be that they're misdiagnosing something related. But the Gilbert BioChemistry Terrorist Kit should certainly be one of the possibilities closely examined, if only to give it a definite "no." |
| Posted by: Fred 2002-06-10 14:41:47 |
| #2 I thought smallpox in the wild had been wiped out. If that had been the case, the re-appearance of the disease anywhere strongly implies a man-made release of the infectious agent. |
| Posted by: Tresho 2002-06-10 13:22:32 |
| #1 Be concerned. It is possible one of the new neighbors brought their own Gilbert BioChemistry Terrorist Kit with them. Or they picked one up at a Russian Yard Sale during the move. |
| Posted by: Mary Lu 2002-06-10 12:41:02 |