מתוך medicontext.co.il
By Richard Waddington
GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization said on Friday that it remains opposed to mass inoculations for smallpox despite fears the virus could be used as a weapon of biowarfare.
Smallpox, once among the world's most lethal diseases, was eradicated over 20 years ago, but the recent anthrax attacks in the United States have raised concerns it could reappear.
However, the vaccine itself can have serious side effects, the WHO said. An adverse reaction to the vaccine can kill one person in a million but there has been no new case of smallpox since 1978.
"The risk of adverse effects is sufficiently high that mass vaccination is not warranted if there is no real risk of exposure," the WHO said in a statement. The United Nations body said it asked a committee of experts last week to review its policy guidelines and they had recommended no change.
Only those at direct risk of contracting the disease, which used to be fatal in some 30% of cases, should be inoculated, the WHO said.
Another argument against mass inoculation is that the smallpox vaccine can be administered after the disease has been contracted, provided that it is detected quickly, WHO head of communicable diseases David Heymann said. The incubation period for smallpox is 7 to 14 days and the vaccine is effective if given within 4 days of infection.
"I think we can be confident public health systems would pick up the disease very rapidly," Heymann added.
The WHO estimates that governments have a stockpile of some 90 million doses of smallpox vaccine but it is not known how much would still be usable. The vaccine is no longer made, but the United States and other governments have announced plans to seek fresh production.
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