This year marks the 25th anniversary of the eradication of naturally-occurring smallpox but no-one in the region is immune to a possible recurrence through artificial cultivation, the region’s governments were cautioned today.
The warning came during the seventh Global Vaccinology International Forum (GVIF) taking place in Dubai this week.
During the symposium, experts urged the Middle East’s governments to act to safeguard against the use of artificially recurring smallpox.
Among the key recommendations from the specialists was the inclusion of a national smallpox vaccine policy within the region’s health programs. Today, at least seven countries in the world have sufficient stocks to vaccinate their entire populations; they do not include any Middle Eastern countries.
Biodefense consultant Dr Jill Dekker-Bellamy told delegates that the threat of artificial dissemination had placed the global community at an unacceptable risk.
In challenging conventional policies which rely on disease containment, Dr Dekker-Bellamy called for pre-event vaccination in all countries.
“The current policies used by the international community highlight the inadequacies of our current understanding of the use of smallpox,” she said.
Former Director of the Smallpox Eradication Program, J. Michael Lane, pointed out that by 1967 most of the Middle East had successfully eradicated the disease. However, between 1967 and 1972, it had been imported into certain countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, proving that it remains a threat.
In 1959 the World Health Organization (WHO) began its mission to rid the world of smallpox. There has not been a single naturally occurring case anywhere since 1980.
