The Pox

There is a curious debate on the final elimination of smallpox stocks, reported in The Scientist:

Destroying smallpox stocks

This week, health ministers from the World Health Organization’s member countries will gather to decide the fate of the last two known remaining stocks of smallpox virus. Scientists and health officials are divided over whether the final stocks of the virus should be kept for research into drugs and vaccines, in case of a reappearance of smallpox, or whether they should be destroyed to eliminate any risk of accidental outbreak.

The disagreement is a consequence of differing perceptions of risks and benefits among developed and developing countries, David Heymann, chairman of the board of UK Health Protection Agency, told Nature. Many poorer countries see smallpox research as a potentially dangerous luxury, he noted, while developed countries want to continue research due to fear that the virus could be used in a deliberate terrorist attack.

Let me get this straight. They need to keep stocks of the smallpox virus, thus forever risking its escape, so they will have virus to research on in case of reappearance? Er…. if some moron did deliberately release it, it’s not going to be hard to reacquire virus now, is it?

And if we keep the scourge alive: where do you think the most likely place the moron would get it from is?