THE smallpox virus first became entangled with the human species somewhere between three thousand and twelve thousand years ago -- possibly in Egypt at the time of the Pharaohs. Somewhere on earth at roughly that time, the virus jumped out of an unknown animal into its first human victim, and began to spread. Viruses are parasites that multiply inside the cells of their hosts, and they are the smallest life forms. Smallpox developed a deep affinity for human beings. It is thought to have killed more people than any other infectious disease, including the Black Death of the Middle Ages. It was declared eradicated from the human species in 1979, after a twelve-year effort by a team of doctors and health workers from the World Health Organization. Smallpox now exists only in laboratories.
I've been meaning to meme this for week and a half, but am just now getting around to it. What I've linked to is Preston's article, which summarizes the full length (though short) book on the topic. I say without hesitation that this is one of the most terrifying books I've ever read, and among the most engaging too. Those of you who read The Hot Zone (same Richard Preston) and thought it didn't get much more frightening than that, well, I'm almost sorry to bring this up. From the true stories of the eradication efforts in the 60's and 70's to the high-security halls of Vector and USAMRIID, a fairly convincing portrait is painted of what seems likely to be the single most dangerous human pathogen we know. In particular, anyone who lives in Atlanta, where the CDC is one of only 2 legitimate repositories for the virus, will find some very interesting material. For example, having read this book, I'm essentially certain that I lived just a couple of blocks from the BSL4 lab where active experimentation with large doses of active, "hot" smallpox was taking place. I probably drove past the building on my way to Aikido that week, and practiced in the Emory rec center, which is directly behind the main CDC campus. I always knew, of course, that the CDC worked with a lot of nasty stuff, but it's different to read about it in detail and realize that the author isn't talking about some anonymous site in the middle of nowhere, but a building in your neighborhood, one that you see on a weekly or daily basis. I'll summarize by saying that the book was lent to me by a coworker on a Wednesday, the evening of which I left for a business trip to DC. By the time i hit the ground in Atlanta Thursday night -- 4 hours of reading on the plane and a few more in the hotel room -- i'd finished the book. If you're even passively interested in this stuff, I suspect you'll want to read this book. The Demon In the Freezer | 
