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Smallpox Samples in Other Nations Worry Bush Administration
Tuesday, November 5, 2002
By John J. Lumpkin
Associated Press Writer

The decision to offer the vaccine is a difficult one because the vaccine itself can be dangerous. It is made with a live virus called vaccinia that can cause serious damage both to people vaccinated and to those with whom they come into close contact.

WASHINGTON -- AP
U.S. intelligence believes four nations other than the United States -- Iraq, North Korea, Russia and France -- probably possess samples of the smallpox virus, a U.S. official said.

Al-Qaida is also believed to have sought samples of smallpox for weaponization, but U.S. officials don't believe the terror network is capable of mounting an attack with smallpox. Evidence recovered in Afghanistan pointed to Osama bin Laden's interest in the disease, the U.S. official said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

U.S. officials worry that Iraq and North Korea could develop potent biological weapons with their samples, and lax security in Russia could allow other nations to obtain the deadly disease for use as a weapon.

The fears that smallpox, declared eradicated in 1980, could again be loose on the world have driven the Bush administration to consider vaccinations for the American populace and to prepare emergency plans should an outbreak be detected.
(More: TheWorldLink.com News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

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