History of Bioterrorism: Smallpox

Visual

Audio

Opening Credits:  “History of Bioterrorism”

“Smallpox”

Joanne Cono, MD, SciM
National Center for Infectious Diseases

Before the discovery of the small pox vaccine, small pox was in fact used as a weapon. 

War footage, Cono voiceover

One of the best documented examples of this occurred during the French and Indian War.  The British had been defeated in their attempt to conquer Fort Carillon on Lake Champlain, so Sir Jeffrey Amhurst, commander of the British forces, met with Indians who were sympathetic to the French.  Under the pretense of friendship, he deliberately offered them blankets previously used by small pox victims.  The Indians, who lacked immunity to small pox, suffered a devastating outbreak of the disease. 

Cono in Studio

The English were then able to successfully attack the Fort, which by the way, was renamed Fort Ticonderoga.  Military forces have also been devastated by endemic small pox. 

Painting of General Washington, Cono voiceover

During the siege of Quebec, George Washington’s troops suffered massive losses from small pox. 

Cono in Studio

He subsequently required all new recruits to be inoculated against the virus.

Clip of William C. Patrick III

I’d like to comment for a few minutes on the Soviet program and their development of small pox, variola major.  They first worked with small pox in embryonic chicken eggs, and since a very small amount of material is produced in the egg, you can imagine the large numbers of eggs that were required to produce 100 metric tons of dried agents.  Now as their program advanced, and starting in the early 90s, they were using tissue culture as a means of generating the virus.  But 100 metric tons loaded into an ICBM aimed at our major cities is cause for worry.

Eradication of Smallpox footage, Cono voiceover

It’s incredibly ironic that the great public health triumph of eradicating small pox in the 1970s and the discontinuation of worldwide vaccination have

Cono in Studio

opened the door for this virus to be once again used as a weapon.