8.5 Infectious Disease

WHO? Once again, the Federal Government of the United States.

WHAT? Seeks to keep its citizens safe from biological attack or natural pandemic.

WHEN? Disease has been a major concern since the dawn of mankind.

WHERE? Modern air travel makes it easier for local epidemics to become global pandemics.

WHY? To safeguard the nation from domestic catastrophe due to infectious disease.

United States Code, Title 18 Section 178 makes it illegal for anyone in the US to acquire, possess, fabricate, or deploy a biological weapon. Disease is by far the biggest killer in all of human history, more than warfare or any other disaster. The 1918 flu pandemic killed 50 to 100 million people, 5% of the world’s population, more than those killed by World War I. The Black Death in 1347 killed over HALF of Europe’s population. Infectious disease is the closest humans have come to an extinction. When Europeans first arrived in the Americas, they brought with them smallpox. Because native Americans had no natural resistance, nearly 90% were killed by the disease. Smallpox is an infectious disease transmitted by the airborne virus. Those who contract it will present flu-like symptoms followed a few days later by the characteristic blemishing of the skin. Death occurred in 35% of ordinary cases from organ failure due to over-active immune response. It is estimated that smallpox killed 300 million people in the 20th century. Edward Jenner discovered in 1798 that vaccination could prevent smallpox. In 1967 the World Health Organization began a global vaccination program. In 1979 the disease was declared eradicated. The smallpox virus, however, is not gone. Under an agreement with WHO, live smallpox stocks are kept at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and a laboratory in Russia. The remaining samples are kept for scientific study and to possibly help make other vaccines. The problem is that most Americans born since 1972 have NOT been vaccinated for smallpox. If these samples should be stolen, or other forgotten samples found, as was the case in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, the virus could be deliberately and maliciously deployed to potentially kill millions. That’s just one possible scenario. The fact of the matter is millions of people die from infectious diseases each year, those that we know, and those that we don’t. Diseases that we know are the easier cases. Most nations subscribe to international protocols recommended by the WHO, an agency of the United Nations, to contain known diseases. One example is Ebola. Ebola can kill anywhere from 25%-90% of the people who become infected. Until recently, there was no vaccine. Countries suffering outbreaks helped prevent Ebola from spreading worldwide by voluntarily instituting travel restrictions according to WHO protocols. Diseases that are unknown present a bigger challenge. Viruses mutate naturally, and are changing all the time. The problem with mutations is they can make a benign virus turn deadly and create a new disease. This is called a “Novel Virus”. There are two problems with a novel virus. First, depending how it transmits, it may not be recognized in time for WHO protocols to contain it. Second there is no vaccine to stop it. There is no one sure way to make a vaccine. If there was, then HIV/AIDs would be cured. As it is, those methods that do work take a long time, anywhere from six months to a decade. A rapidly spreading virus can create an epidemic. If it goes international, it becomes a pandemic. In 2009, the novel virus H5N1 created a global pandemic. H5N1 was a transgenic virus that began with poultry in East Asia and Africa and spread to humans worldwide. It had a 10% mortality rate. An estimated 50 million people died worldwide before an effective vaccine could be administered. The CDC in Atlanta stands watch monitoring for disease outbreaks across the nation. If an outbreak occurs, the CDC will distribute antiviral pills from the Strategic National Stockpile. Antiviral medication can’t cure the disease, but it could reduce the symptoms and increase survival. Of course, antiviral drugs are a delaying tactic until a vaccine can be developed. In a worst-case situation, States may also be forced to enact emergency health powers. Among these powers are the authorities to isolate individuals and impose quarantines. Of the four different types of WMD, biological agents have the potential to become most deadly.