US, Russian Smallpox Stockpiles "Crimes Against Humanity"

BANGKOK, Thailand -- The U.S. and Russia should destroy their deadly smallpox stockpiles or be "guilty of crimes against humanity," because the virus slaughtered hundreds of millions of people before it was stopped in 1980 and would kill again if it escapes a laboratory, the American who led the global eradication said.

"There were two laboratories that have smallpox, we know that for sure, one was the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) in Atlanta, and the second was the Institute of Virus Preparations in Moscow," Dr. Donald A. Henderson said in an interview.

"There, the virus is -- we believe -- sequestered. All [other] countries have signed off that they don't have any smallpox," said Dr. Henderson, who led the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Global Smallpox Eradication Campaign which declared worldwide success 35 years ago.

Dr. Henderson was here in Bangkok, Thailand, to receive the annual $100,000 Prince Mahidol Award in the Field of Public Health on January 28.

During the 20th century, smallpox killed 300 million to 500 million people, the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation said.

Today, scientists in America and Russia "are doing research, on certain components" of the smallpox virus, according to Dr. Henderson.

"There are those who say: 'It would be better to keep it. We might have questions we cannot anticipate now, that we will not answer, unless we have the original material'.

"I am on the other side saying that may be possible, but it's quite remote.

"I would feel happier if we had the destruction, and a [United Nations] resolution basically to say: 'Any country, any scientist, any laboratory with smallpox virus after date X, is guilty of crimes against humanity'," Dr. Henderson said.

"We have reserves of smallpox vaccine, and they're quite considerable. And they do seem to be very stable. But still, if they were released, it would be hell on wheels."

Today, Dr. Henderson is a professor of medicine and public health at Pittsburg University, and university distinguished service professor at Johns Hopkins University.

A similar Cold War-style strategy which threatened mutually assured destruction, and thus enabled the Pentagon and the Kremlin to keep their nuclear weapons, is echoed by American scientists and officials who want to keep the U.S. smallpox virus stockpile.

After WHO's successful worldwide eradication in 1980, Dr. Henderson discovered -- during high-level discussions in America about destroying the stockpiled virus -- that "the resistance to considering the idea was very high.

"I remember, I was actually sitting in the National Research Council when this was discussed in the U.S., and they said: 'Well, suppose we destroy ours and the Russians don't destroy theirs?'

"And my question was: 'Do you have in mind that we would use smallpox virus as an attack agent?'"

The stockpile supporters replied, according to Dr. Henderson: "Oh no, no, no, we wouldn't want do that. That's terrible. No, no, no, no."

But Dr. Henderson then realized the existence of America's real politick.

"Well, when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, what would you really do? It still becomes a bit of a problem, and there's a certain knee-jerk reaction on this," he said.

Meanwhile, the biggest viral health threat facing the world today is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) which causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), he said.

"AIDS is involving 35 million people now. We do not have a vaccine. The treatment is not complete for anyone, they're taking it for life.

"It's not easy to keep these people on drugs indefinitely. That's a problem. And the cost of this is just mounting exponentially."

Complacency about various viruses will result in future problems.

"I think one of the biggest mistakes is, we get overconfident and this is exactly what happened with regard to Ebola."

Ebola reportedly killed more than 8,000 people, mostly in Africa, since the latest outbreak in March.

Richard S. Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based journalist from San Francisco, California, reporting news from Asia since 1978, and recipient of Columbia University's Foreign Correspondent's Award. He is a co-author of three non-fiction books about Thailand, including "Hello My Big Big Honey!" Love Letters to Bangkok Bar Girls and Their Revealing Interviews; 60 Stories of Royal Lineage; and Chronicle of Thailand: Headline News Since 1946. Mr. Ehrlich also contributed to the final chapter, "Ceremonies and Regalia," in a new book titled King Bhumibol Adulyadej, A Life's Work: Thailand's Monarchy in Perspective.

His websites are:
http://asia-correspondent.tumblr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/animists/sets
https://gumroad.com/l/RHwa

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