Whats the risk ?

At the moment the risks of smallpox killing seem relatively low, this is due to an eradication programme that took place throughout the world decades ago. The last known case of wild smallpox was found in a host in Somalia in 1977, 1980 saw the world declared free from smallpox (History of vaccines.org, 2013).

The last known ‘wild’ case may have been in 1977; however smallpox still exists after its official eradication.  The smallpox virus is still alive, not in the wild but in laboratories. ’Repositories for the live variola virus remain only at two secure locations in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States, and Novosibirsk Russia’ (INSTUTUTE OF MEDICINE OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES , 2005). This brings me to the main point of this blogg:

Should the smallpox virus be kept in labrarories or should it be destroyed?

References

INSTUTUTE OF MEDICINE OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES , 2005. Smallpox Eradication Programe : Public Health In An Age of Terrorism . In: Washington: National Academy of Science , p. 10.

VACCINES, H. O., 2013. HISTORY OF SMALLPOX. [Online]
Available at: http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/timelines/smallpox
[Accessed 7 April 2013].