A immunilogical question...

Factual Questions
1

When I was new to the USCG, (United States Coast Guard) we got stuck with a wide array of little bugs, in anticipation of travel to a wide array of exotic foreign pestilence holes. That’s right, we don’t just cruise around bagging druggies and counting life jackets before the next round of pina coladas.

As the supplicant in the ceremony you step into a tape square on the floor and they zap you from both sides. Then you move on to the next square on the floor…The one I remember best was the cowpox stick:

Basically they poked us a few times in the arm with what looked like a sixteen-penny nail which we were reliably assured was encrusted with gazillions of little cowpox bugs. We were told that we would shortly acquire the zit from hell over the site where the nail had been. We were assured that said superzit must not be touched, or lanced, or anything, as the zit from hell would propogate on any part that got the zit-juice thereupon. We were told of the recruit who got blinded this way.

I got as sick as I have ever been, until about two weeks later I awoke in a pool of sweat, but feeling pretty good. My fever had broken and I had a new immunity to smallpox.

So here’s my questions: how long does said immunity from smallpox last? How long does immunity from all the other things I was stuck with last?

2

According to the CDC,

This, however, is for the vaccinia vaccine, which, from your description, you didn’t get. Vaccinia is different from cowpox, but they are related and both confer immunity to smallpox (as well as other Orthopoxviruses). One would assume that the periods of immunity are similar. Note that this is only for primary vaccination; if you had subsequent boosters then the immunity would last longer.

By the way, are you sure that you were innoculated with cowpox? According to this CDC site vaccinia has been used since the 1970’s.

3

I forgot to add that the length of the other immunities would, of course, depend on what diseases and what exactly you had done. You can probably find most of the answers you want by searching here.

4

Thanks. I’ll go check out the CDC site.