Smallpox in Chad

[BDG]

Well, I had never really considered a re-emergence of smallpox, other than in some total global war it being used as a weapon. If that were the case, I would have a lot more I should be getting sorted rather than some home brew immunity rolling with the voles.

Should it be a threat, it is much the same precautions when dealing with virus and communicable disease - isolation - keep away from sources of infection, if you are in an environment you are not sure is clean, assume it is unclean and follow your procedures.

If it were to re-emerge, as stocks of the old virus are held, we could make vaccine pretty damn quick. Because the virus is so similar to many others in the animal world, we could use a variety of animals to produce a vaccine - some would be better than others, granted,

The biggest threat I would see is that it would remove meat animals from the market in the short - short/medium market - should it be the virus travels.

You must also consider that an outbreak would stop - for one reason or another - where it started.

If a report comes in from one source of unknown provenance, then to me it really is just an ear pricker.