The Demon in the Freezer by Preston

Ref: Richard Preston (2003). The Demon in the Freezer. Fawcett.

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Summary­

  • The history of Variola (Smallpox) until its Eradication by the WHO and the CDC in the 1970s.

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Terminology

  • US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease (USAMRIID).

  • Hazardous Materials Response Unit (HMRU).

  • Strategic Operations Information Center (SIOC).

  • Vector: Russian state research center of virology and biotechnology (Russian equivalent of the CDC).

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Virus

  • Virus: Latin for poison, particles are virions.

  • Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (HFV): Viruses that make people bleed.

  • R0: Outbreak Multiplier.

Smallpox

  • Smallpox was passed by the Spaniards to the Mayans and the Incans and along with measles left them almost defenseless against the European invaders.

  • Genetically Modified Smallpox (GM) poses a very dangerous threat to the future.

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Bacteria

  • Plague (Black Death): Yersinia Pestis.

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Chronology

  • 9 Dec, 1979: The WHO declares the Variola Major variant of Smallpox eradicated; the disease causes blotchy, pimples and postulates and was the deadliest disease in human history.-Demon in the Freezer by Preston.

  • Oct, 1977: The last naturally occurring case of Variola Minor, Ali Maalin, is contained in the Horn of Africa.-Demon in the Freezer by Preston.

  • 1975: The last naturally occurring case of Variola Major is stopped in Bhola Island, Bangladesh.-Demon in the Freezer by Preston.

  • 14 May, 1796: Dr. Edward Jenner infects a farm boy with cowpox; the boy develops a single pustule that rapidly heals. Dr. Jenner then infected the boy with smallpox and the virus had no effect; he called it a vaccine (Latin for cow).-Demon in the Freezer by Preston.

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