Public Health Issues

Knowing that smallpox can be a virulently contagious virus and knowing that only the vaccination can prevent it from spreading, what exactly is the motive of the CDC in reassuring the American public that smallpox is not a disease we should vaccinate against.

The CDC has come out officially with a stance of stating that the smallpox vaccine should not be routinely given to prevent an outbreak should a biological attack occur. But what is the CDC really saying?

Although it would seem to have blown over, the Anthrax attack is now producing more concerns for its victims than it did originally. Some hard decisions have to be made. Part one of a two part article about vaccinations and bioterrorism.

As scientists work to understand the potential impact of a smallpox attack, British studies and American studies are showing very different results. These differences could be crucial to dealing with smallpox should such an attack occur.

What exactly is smallpox? We hear the word every time we turn on the news or open a newspaper. But how many people really know much about the disease itself?

Now the United States and other Western nations are faced with an old threat, under a new name, Bioterrorism. Learn more about how biological warfare, smallpox in particular, has been used in warfare for over 300 years.

How did 94 year old Ottilie Lundgren contract inhalation anthrax? Investigators probe this mystery while the Post Office gives you some helpful hints to protect your family.

Thanks to the writings of Thucydides, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been able to use retrodiagnosis to speculate on the true nature of The Plague of Athens. Their findings may surprise you.

Like physicians today, Thucydides describes in detail the symptoms that he and others suffered as they became infected with The Plague of Athens. Thanks to his eye for detail, modern scientists are learning more about the surprising identity of this mystery plague.

Five Hundred years before Christ, the Greek writer Thucydides wrote of a mysterious plague that struck the city of Athens during the Peloponnesian War. In this three part series, using a technique called retrodiagnosis, I'll explore the background, symptoms and finally the solution to this literary and medical mystery. Why? Because ...