There is a scenario that is ripe for a zombie-horror movie. Smallpox, an extremely deadly virus that was eradicated in the 1970s, was found at a vaccine research facility in Pennsylvania. There is no evidence that anyone has been exposed to the pathogen.
The CDC says that the frozen vials were found by a lab worker as they were cleaning out a freezer. The worker was wearing gloves and a face mask while he was at the scene of the discovery. The CDC has a facility that conducts vaccine research.
There is no indication that anyone has been exposed to the small number of frozen vials, according to the CDC. The CDC, its Administration partners, and law enforcement are investigating the matter and the contents appear intact.
Yahoo News reported that the CDC will transport the vials to another location for testing on Wednesday. Yahoo News has seen an alert from the DHS that says there were 15 vials, five of which were labeled "smallpox" and 10 of which were labeled "vaccinia."
One of the more fearsome germs that has plagued humanity is Smallpox, which causes pockmarks on the skin. It is thought to have killed 300 million people in the 20th century alone. The first to be beaten back through vaccination was the virus, which was defeated through improved technique of inoculation in the late 18th century. The eradication of the disease was aided by the fact that humans are the only known natural host.
The decision to allow samples of the virus at certain labs in the U.S. and Russia has earned a fair share of controversy. Workers at the National Institutes of Health discovered six untaxed smallpox vials during a move, which is one of the recent discoveries of the disease. There were no cases of the disease as a result of the two vials that were later shown to contain viable virus.
There is a vaccine for the disease, though it is only given to people who are at risk of exposure, such as lab workers. Americans are no longer routinely vaccine against the disease. The Food and Drug Administration approved tecovirimat as the first antiviral specifically meant to treat smallpox in the summer of 2018, based on data from tests in the lab on the disease.
There are occasional cases of monkeypox and Alaskapox in the U.S., but they are not as serious or prevalent as smallpox was in its heyday.
