[Fwd: Don't Fear a Smallpox Outbreak]

[Guest guest]

*Don't Fear a Smallpox Outbreak***

*By Sherri Tenpenny, DO, **© 2002

*Website: *www.nmaseminars.com* <http://www.nmaseminars.com/>

Phone: 440-268-0897

/?We interrupt the current programming to bring you this important news

update?there has been a reported case of smallpox in Washington, D.C??/

What will happen next?

Pandemonium.

The press has done its job over the last few months reinforcing the

belief that an epidemic is about to occur, potentially causing millions

of deaths. Americans thousands of miles from Washington will demand the

smallpox vaccine, a vaccine with the highest risk of complications of

any vaccine ever manufactured and with a dubious track record for success.

However, because you are informed, you will have a different response.

You will not panic. You will turn off the TV. You won?t listen to your

hysterical neighbors. And more importantly, you won?t rush to be

vaccinated. Here?s why:

On June 20, 2002, I attended the Center for Disease Control?s (CDC)

meeting of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) and

listened to one and a half days of testimony prior to posting the

recommendations for smallpox vaccination that are currently being

considered by the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services

(DHHS.)

Various physicians and researchers associated with the CDC presented by

public participants and many testimonies and comments. Noting that two

weeks have passed since the June 20th meeting and the media has still

not reported on this historic event, I decided it was imperative to

report the content and outcome of this meeting to the general public.

After reading this report you will gain a new perspective on smallpox

and, hopefully, in the event of an outbreak, you will understand that

you have nothing to fear.

*Generally Accepted Facts*

Nearly every article or news headline regarding smallpox is designed to

instill and continually reinforce fear in the minds of the general

public. Apparently the goal is to make everyone demand the vaccine as

soon as it is available and/or in the event of an outbreak.

A very similar media campaign was developed prior to the release of the

Salk polio vaccine in 1955. The polio vaccine had been in development

for more than a year prior to its release and was an untested

?investigational new drug,? just as the smallpox vaccine will be.

The difference is that *the potential side effects and complications of

the smallpox vaccine are already known, and they are extensive.*

Generally accepted facts about smallpox include:

* Smallpox is highly contagious and could spread rapidly, killing

millions

* Smallpox can be spread by casual contact with an infected person

* The death rate from smallpox is thought to be 30%

* There is no treatment for smallpox

* The smallpox vaccine will protect a person from getting the disease

As it turns out, these ?accepted facts? are not the ?real facts.?

*Myth 1: Smallpox Is Highly Contagious*

*?Smallpox has a slow transmission and is not highly contagious,?

*stated Kuritsky, MD, director of the National Immunization Program

and Early Smallpox Response and Planning at the CDC.

This statement is a direct contradiction to nearly everything we have

ever heard or read about smallpox. However, keep in mind that this comes

?straight from the horse?s mouth? and should be considered the ?real

story? regarding how smallpox is spread.

Even if a person is exposed to a known bioterrorist attack with

smallpox, it doesn?t mean that he will contract smallpox. The signs and

symptoms of the disease will not occur immediately, and there is time to

plan.

The infection has an *incubation period of 3 to 17 days,[1]* and the

first symptom will be the development of a high fever (>101º F),

accompanied by nausea, vomiting, headache, severe abdominal cramping and

low back pain. The person will be ill and most likely bed-ridden; not

out mixing with the general public.

Even with a fever, it is critically important to realize that at this

point the person is *still not contagious.* In fact, the fever may be

caused by something else, such as the flu.

However, if a smallpox infection is developing, the characteristic rash

will begin to develop within two to four days after the onset of the

fever. The person becomes contagious and has the ability to spread the

infection *only after the development of the rash. *

?The characteristic rash of variola major is difficult to misdiagnose,?

stated Walter A. Orenstein, M.D., Director of the National Immunization

Program (NIP) at the CDC. The classic smallpox rash is a round, firm

pustule that can spread and become confluent. The lesions are all in the

same stage of development over the entire body and appear to be

distributed more on the palms, soles and face than on the trunk or

extremities.

*Action Item:*

In the event of an exposure, it is imperative that you do everything you

can to improve the functioning of your immune system so that an

?exposure? does not have to result in an ?outbreak.?

a. Stop eating all foods that contain refined white sugar products,

since sugar inhibits the functioning of your white blood cells, your

first line of defense.[2]

(There are many other health-conscious dietary considerations

<http://chetday.com/hbprogram.html> to consider, but that is beyond the

scope of this article.)

b. Start taking large doses of Vitamin C. Vitamin C has been proven in

hundreds of studies to be effective in protecting the body from viral

infections,[3] including smallpox.[4] For an extensive scientific review

on the use of this nutrient and a ?dosing recipe?, read Vitamin C, The

Master Nutrient

<http://www.positivehealth.com%20/permit/Articles/%20Nutrition/vitcpre.htm>,

by Goodman, Ph.D.

c. If you develop a fever, you still have time to plan. Purchase enough

fresh, organic produce and filtered water to last three weeks. Move the

kids to grandma?s or the neighbor?s house.

d. Remember: *you may not get the infection and you are not contagious

until you get the rash!*

*Myth 2: Smallpox Is Easily Spread by Casual Contact with an Infected

Person*

Smallpox will not rapidly disseminate throughout the community. Even

after the development of the rash, the infection is slow to spread. ?The

infection is spread by droplet contamination and coughing or sneezing

are not generally part of the infection.

Smallpox will not spread like wildfire,? said Orenstein. He stated that

the spread of smallpox to casual contacts is the ?exception to the

rule.? Only 8% of cases in Africa were contracted by accidental contact.

Transmission of smallpox occurs only after intense contact, defined as

*?constant exposure of a person that is within 6-7 feet for a minimum of

6-7 days.?*[5] Dr. Orenstein reported that in Africa, 92% of all cases

came from close associations and, in India, *all* cases came from

prolonged personal contact.

Dr. Tom Mack from the University of Southern California stated that in

Pakistan, 27% of cases demonstrated no transmission to close associates.

Nearly 37% had a transmission of only one generation, meaning that the

second person to contract smallpox did not pass it onto the third

person. These statistics directly contradict models that predict an

exponential spread to millions.

Even without medical care, isolation was the best way to stop the spread

of smallpox in Third World, population dense areas. With a slow

transmission rate and an informed public, Mack estimated that the total

number of smallpox cases in America would be less than 10, a far cry

from the millions postulated by the press.

Dr. Kuritsky said at the CDC Public Forum on Smallpox on June 8 in St.

Louis, ?Given the slow transmission rate and that people need to be in

close contact for nearly a week to spread the infection, the scenario in

which a terrorist could infect himself with smallpox and contaminate an

entire city by walking through the streets touching people is purely

fiction.?

*Point to ponder:*

Mass vaccination was halted in Third World countries because it didn?t

work. In India, villages with an 88% vaccination rate still had

outbreaks. After the World Health Organization began a surveillance and

containment campaign, actively seeking cases of smallpox, isolating them

in their homes, and vaccinating family members and close contacts,

outbreaks were virtually eliminated within two years.

The CDC and the WHO organization attribute the eradication of smallpox

to the *ring vaccination of close contacts.* However, since the

infection runs its course in 3-6 weeks, perhaps ISOLATION ALONE would

have effectively accomplished the same thing.

*Myth #3: The Death Rate From Smallpox Is 30%*

Nearly every newspaper and journal article quotes this statistic.

However, as pointed out in the presentation by Dr. Tom Mack, it appears

that the ?30% fatality rate? has come from skewed data. Dr. Mack has

worked with smallpox extensively and saw more than 120 outbreaks in

Pakistan throughout the early 1970s.

Villages would apparently have ?an importation? every 5-10 years,

regardless of vaccination status, and the outbreak could always be

predicated by living conditions and social arrangements. There were many

small outbreaks and individual cases that never came to the attention of

the local authorities.

Mack stated that even with poor medical care, the case fatality rate in

adults was ?much lower than is generally advertised? and thought to be

*10-15%.* He said that the statistics were ?loaded with children that

had a much higher fatality,? making the average death rate reported to

be much higher. Amazingly, he revealed his opinion that *even without

mass vaccination, ?smallpox would have died out anyway. It just would

have taken longer.? *

Even so, people died. Why? After all, smallpox is a skin disease and

?other organs are seldom involved.?[6] I posed this question to the

committee on two separate occasions.

Kathi of the National Vaccine Information Center asked this

question at the Institute of Medicine meeting on June 15th. On June 20,

an answer was finally forthcoming when a member of the ACIP committee

said, ?That is a good question. Does anyone know the actual cause of

death from smallpox??

At that point, Dr. D.A. , from the Hopkins University

Department of Epidemiology volunteered a comment. Dr. directed

the World Health Organization's global smallpox eradication campaign

(1966-1977) and helped initiate WHO's global program of immunization in

1974. He approached the microphone and stated,

*?Well, it appears that the cause of death of smallpox is a ?mystery.?? *

He stated that a medical resident had been asked to do a complete review

of the literature and ?not much information? was found. It is postulated

that the people died from a ?generalized toxemia? and that those with

the most severe forms of smallpox -- the hemorrhagic or confluent

malignant types -- died of complications of skin sloughing, similar to a

burn. However, he concluded by saying, ?it?s frustrating, because we

don?t really know.?

*Comment:* I find this to be extremely frightening. If we knew why

people died when they contracted smallpox, perhaps current medical

technology could treat the complications, making the death rate much

lower. Considering that the last known case of smallpox in the U.S. was

in Texas in 1949, continuing to report that smallpox has a 30% death

rate is similar to saying that all heart attacks are fatal. Based on

1949 technology, that would be accurate reporting. But in 2002, all

heart attacks are NOT fatal. Neither would smallpox have a mortality

rate of 30%.

*Myth #4: There Is No Treatment For Smallpox*

A more accurate statement is ?there are no pharmaceutical drugs for the

treatment for smallpox.? But they are working on that too. There are 274

antiviral drug compounds and testing is underway to see if one can be

useful in the treatment of smallpox.[7]

One such drug is called hexadecylosypropyl-cidofovir (HDP-CDV). Not yet

available for human use, it has been found to be 100 times more potent

than its cousin, cidofovir, a drug used to treat retinal infections in

HIV patients.

If studies pan out, HDP-CDV will be offered in a pill or capsule form

over 5-14 days for the prevention and treatment of people exposed to

smallpox.[8] Unfortunately, this drug is being developed in Europe and

will most likely be kept out of the US market until long after the

general public has been subjected to mass vaccination.

It is important to note that there are several different presentations

of a smallpox infection. The most common is called ?ordinary discrete?

smallpox, occurring in more than 40% of the cases. The outbreak is seen

as a small scattering of pustules distributed across the body. The

person with this type of smallpox needs minimal medical care and the

reported death rate is <10%.[9]

*For mild cases of smallpox, adequate hydration and anti-fever products

are essential for comfort and maintaining a temperature below 102ºF.

Keeping the skin clean to prevent secondary bacterial infections is also

important. *

A 1927 Textbook of Medicine recommends applying gauzed soaked in

carbolic acid to ?decrease itching and prevent extensive scarring.?[10]

Carbolic acid is used acutely for burns that tend to ulcerate and other

skin conditions that cause burning or prickling pain. Homeopathic forms

of carbolic acid are also available.

For the severe complications of smallpox, modern day treatment options

are available. The hemorrhagic type of smallpox, occurring in

approximately 3% of cases, presents as hypotensive shock and can be

treated accordingly. In another 3% of serious cases, the confluent-type

has extensive skin involvement. These patients can be treated the same

as a burn patient. All severe cases need to be treated for dehydration

and watched for signs of bacterial suprainfection.

Research done by Dr. Havens, MS, MD, from the Medical College of

Wisconsin postulated that death from smallpox was due to multisystem

organ failure, a complication of an untreated acute cytokine

(inflammatory) response. Massive oxidative stress occurs, leading to

free-radical damage in the kidneys and other internal organs. However,

Dr. Havens estimates that modern medical technology would indeed

decrease the death rate,* to possibly as low as 2-3%. *

*Comment: *The treatment of choice for severe free-radical stress is

high dose intravenous Vitamin C. If conventional medicine would

recognize the value of this treatment, they would also be forced to

realize mass vaccination is simply not necessary.

Treating severely ill patients would require hospitalization and

unfortunately, smallpox spreads the most quickly in the hospital setting

due to poor isolation techniques. In addition, most patients in

hospitals are ill and immunosuppressed by disease or medication, making

them more susceptible to infection.

Dr. Mike Lane, former director of the CDC?s smallpox eradication program

in the 1970s, said severely ill smallpox patients could be treated in a

suburban motel or remote government building. ?You can bring care to the

patient if you elect to use the Motel 6 on the edge of town? rather than

put smallpox victims in a hospital where the disease could spread to

patients with weakened immune systems.

*My Conversation with Dr. Mike Lane**: *

Dr. Lane and I had a private conversation during a coffee break. During

his presentation, he had been adamant that those within the ?first ring?

would need to be mandatory vaccinate with 100% compliance. The ?first

ring? includes those that have had immediate, close contact with

patients who had confirmed cases of smallpox. Lane stated that this was

the only way that ?ring vaccination would work.? When I questioned his

definition of 100% compliance, he said,

*?Medical contraindications would not apply? there would be NO exceptions. *

I would rather vaccinate them and take my chances treating the potential

complications. In India, we vaccinated everyone. The only medical

contraindication was leprosy, and we sometimes vaccinated them. I?m sure

that we killed a few people, but we did the best that we could.?

I pressed the issue further by saying, ?If the death rate really is 30%

(which I doubt), doesn?t that mean the survival rate is 70%? Shouldn?t

that person have the right to play the odds with his health if he chose

to?? His answer was the same: ?If the person is exposed, there will be

NO exceptions, medical or otherwise. Those people in the first ring --

regardless of health status MUST be vaccinated.?

That means that all people with medical contraindictions -- organ

transplants, cancer, HIV, eczema and other skin conditions -- would be

vaccinated, even it was against their will and with the use of force, if

necessary. He was quite the zealot about it; hopefully, in the event of

a smallpox exposure, more reasonable minds will prevail.

*Myth #5: The Vaccine Will Keep Me from Getting the Infection*

Most people believe that all vaccines work to protect them, meaning that

the vaccine will be clinically effective. What most people do not know

is that vaccines have never been proven to protect them from getting the

infection.

This little known fact is not only true for all vaccines, it is also

true for the smallpox vaccine. Here are a few examples:

*Chickenpox vaccine:*

?No data exists regarding post-exposure efficacy of the current

varicella vaccine.?

?Vaccinated persons have a less severe out break than unvaccinated? [11]

*Pertussis vaccine:*

" The findings of efficacy studies have not demonstrated a direct

correlation between antibody response and protection against pertussis

disease.?[12]

*Smallpox vaccine:*

?Neutralizing antibodies are reported to reflect levels of protection,

although this has not been validated in the field.? [13]

Dr. Harold Margolis, Senior Advisor to the Director for Smallpox

Planning and Response, stated in Atlanta that ?the vaccine decreased the

death rate among those vaccinated *by ?modifying the disease?, not by

preventing infection.?*

*Take Home Points:*

1. Smallpox is NOT highly contagious. You have time. Don?t panic.

2. Smallpox is only spread by close contact of less than 6 feet for at

least 6-7 days. You aren?t that close to coworkers or commuters.

3. Treatment for smallpox should be surveillance and containment,

without vaccination.

4. Smallpox is not highly fatal. There are treatments for smallpox.

5. The vaccine will not protect you from getting the infection. The

vaccine has high complication rates, is an experimental drug and there

are many contraindications. (Please see this article

<http://mercola.com/2002/jun/12/smallpox_update.htm>)

*Addendum:*

As I was completing this report this morning, I read in the New York

Times that the CDC plans to increase the number of ?first responders?

who receive the vaccination to 500,000 from the agreed-to 15,000.[14]

Preparations are also underway for rapid mass vaccination of the general

public. The more extensive vaccination plan is possible because supplies

are increasing. As I have stated before, the government spent more than

$780 million to develop its arsenal.

*Now that we have it, we will use it. *

In addition to medical first responders, a presentation at the June 20th

meeting suggested that first responders should also include a class to

be defined as ?economic first responders,? those who would be necessary

in keeping the economy moving in the event of a nationwide ?lock down?

caused by an outbreak.

This group would include pilots, truck drivers, food handlers, etc. It

is the ?etc.? that is of concern. Where do you draw the line? Obviously,

the line will be drawn after Tommy ?s vision of a ?vaccine for

every man, woman and child? has been fulfilled.

One of the major problems is the lack of vaccinia immune globulin (VIG),

the ?antidote? that is needed for those who experience a severe reaction

to the vaccine. The Times article reports that there are only 700 doses

currently available. Dr. Tom Mack, among others at the CDC warned that,

?in the absence of VIG, extensive vaccination would be extremely

dangerous.?

With the continued rhetoric about the US plans to go to war with Iraq,

we are essentially taunting Saddam into launching a biological weapons

attack on our own people.

We are not given an exact knowledge as to Saddam?s capability but are

given euphemisms such as ?reasonably high? or ?quite high.? But we don?t

know for sure. And if the government knows, it is not telling. And if

Saddam does have biological smallpox, what is the chance he has other

weapons of biological destruction, those for which we do not have a

vaccine?

We are developing ?grounds? for a war with Iraq in spite of the rest of

the world telling us to stay out of there. I encourage all to spend some

time on this site: www.globalpolicy.org <http://www.globalpolicy.org/>

for some eye-opening information on policy that you won?t see in the

popular press.

We are setting the stage for a health disaster unlike anything we have

seen before in America, and it will be our own doing. World health

records (England, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, British India, etc.)

document that devastating epidemics followed mass vaccination.

The worst smallpox disaster occurred in the Philippines after a 10 year

compulsory US program administered 25 million vaccinations to its

population of 10 million resulting in 170,000 cases and more than 75,000

deaths from ?smallpox?, in a country having only scattered cases in

rural villages prior to the onslaught of vaccines.[15]

I received an excellent bulletin from Larken Rose

(www.Theft-By-Deception.com <http://www.theft-by-deception.com/>) who is

an activist regarding taxes. So much of what he said applies to the

vaccine movement, that I got his permission to include part of his

letter here.

*It is time to **stand against** forced vaccination. Stop the hysteria!

Information is power. However, after gaining power, you must **ACT. *

Here is something to inspire you:

More than 200 years ago, the people of this country chose to tell King

, not just that he was unreasonable, not just that they didn?t

like him, not just that they had complaints about him, but that they

were going to resist by force his tyrannical ways.

The Declaration was not a threat to take King to court; it was

not a petition, or a request for fairness, or even a demand. It was a

statement -- a declaration -- that the people of America refused to

tolerate the oppression, and were going to openly resist it, and didn?t

give a damn what the King thought about it.

Though it may be politically incorrect to describe it this way, the

Declaration of Independence was a bunch of people openly stating that

they were going to ignore the law (not debate it or litigate it), and

overthrow their present government. (King was not a foreign

invader; he was " the government. " )

Again, in the words of the Declaration, " when a long train of abuses and

usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evidences a design to

reduce them under absolute despotism, it is the people?s right, it is

their duty, to throw off such government. "

Where are the Americans who still have that attitude?

There are a few (very few), and most people consider them to be " fringe

extremists. " Where do YOU draw the line? What injustice would government

agents have to commit, before YOU would openly resist? Is there a line

for you? Or would you complain and bicker all the way to absolute tyranny?

/ " Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never

will. Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found out

the exact amount of injustice and wrong that will be imposed upon them,

and these will continue till they have resisted with either words or

blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the

endurance of those whom they suppress. " /

- Frederick

This is a very different country today from what it was 226 years ago.

We have become a country of sheep. We occasionally " baaa " at government

injustice, but we do not ACT. For the most part, our ?rebelliousness "

now consists of pushing buttons in voting booths, to hopefully elect the

less scummy of two lying scumbags (after a debate about which one is

scummier).

For most people that is the extent of their resistance to

government-imposed injustice. Each of us cowers in a corner for fear

that we will be the next one that government makes an " example " of.

While self-preservation is no sin, at some point a country of

" self-preservers " will " preserve " itself into total submission to tyrants.

We are one step away from that now.

Once upon a time, a group of individuals declared to the world that they

would fight and risk death, rather than tolerate the oppressions of an

abusive government. Now, we are too comfortable for that. We are

spoiled. We are cowards. For today?s battle, we need only the smallest

fraction of the courage our forefathers demonstrated.

We do not need to lie in the mud, squinting in the cold to see the rifle

sites, waiting for the glimpse of British Troops that we know are headed

our way just over the next ridge. We do not need to run into the open

field, in heavy enemy fire, to retrieve our buddy who just had his leg

blown off by a cannonball.

We do not need to leave our families and friends to fight, and possibly

to die. No, today the price for our freedom (at least a huge chunk of

it) is a pittance compared to what others have paid, but I have my

doubts about whether we are willing to pay even that. What is that

price? What do we need to do?

*We need to just say **NO** by affirming the following:*

I will *avoid* fear.

I will *seek alternatives* to the forced medical experimentation.

I will *avoid* being injected with an experimental new drug based on a

?hunch? or based on something that happened hundreds or thousands of

miles from where I live.

I will *resist* the government?s efforts to take away my right to do

what I believe is best for my body.

I will* take personal responsibility* for my heath and for the health of

my family.

One of the major problems is the lack of vaccinia immune globulin (VIG),

the ?antidote? that is needed for those who experience a severe reaction

to the vaccine. The Times article reports that there are only 700 doses

currently available. Dr. Tom Mack, among others at the CDC warned that,

*?in the absence of VIG, extensive vaccination would be extremely

dangerous.?*

*For Further Information*

*Sherri Tenpenny, DO

*Website: *www.nmaseminars.com* <http://www.nmaseminars.com/>

Phone: 440-268-0897

*References:*

1. JAMA, June 9, 1999; Vol. 281, No. 22, p 3132

2. Bernstein J et al. Depression of lymphocyte transformation following

oral glucose ingestion. Am. J. of Clin. Nut. 1977;30:613

3. Murata A. Virucidal Activity of Vitamin C: Vitamin C for Prevention

and Treatment of Viral Diseases. Proceedings of the First Intersectional

Congress of Microbiological Societies, Science Council of Japan

3:432-442. 1975.

4. Kligler IJ, Bernkopf H. Inactivation of Vaccinia Virus by Ascorbic

Acid and Glutathione. Nature, vol. 139:pp.965-966. 1937

5. Am. J. Epid. 1971; 91:316-326.

6. JAMA, June 9, 1999; Vol. 281, No. 22, p 2130

7. LeDuc, and Jahrling, B. Strengthening National

Preparedness for Smallpox: an Update. Emerging Infectious Diseases,

Jan-Feb 2001, Vol. 7., No. 1

8. Highfield, . New drug could conquer smallpox,

http://www.news.telegraph.co.uik <http://www.news.telegraph.co.uik/>

3-21-02.

9. Data from Rao, 1972, quoted in Fenner Table 1.2

10. Blumgarten, A.S. ?A Textbook of Medicine? for nursing students. 1927.

11. MMWR July 12, 1996/45(RR11); p. 12

12. MMWR March 28, 1997/Vol.46/No. RR-7, pg. 4

13. JAMA, ibid. p 2131

14. http://www.nytimes.com /2002/07/07/national/

07SMAL.html?todaysheadlines

<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/national/07SMAL.html?todaysheadlines>

15. Physician Hay's address of June 25, 1937; printed in

the Congressional Record.

/ /