# Oops: Smallpox found in Maryland **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 9, 2014, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695 "2014-07-09T08:18:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/1 "2014-07-09T08:18:19Z")
> [@](#): > > The last remaining strains of smallpox are kept in highly protected government laboratories in Russia and at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. And, apparently, in a dusty cardboard box in an old storage room in Maryland. Article [here](http://motherboard.vice.com/read/a-box-of-forgotten-smallpox-vials-was-just-found-in-an-fda-closet). Oops. I wonder how many other sites are quickly checking their stores? ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/2 "2014-07-09T08:33:43Z")
Aww, and I here I was hoping to be able to blame antivaxxers. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/3 "2014-07-09T11:40:36Z")
Now I’m sure I had something like that around… \ ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/4 "2014-07-09T12:51:43Z")
If those vials have been at room temperature all these years it’s highly unlikely they’re still viable. Apparently the CDC is double-checking on that, but I suspect the vials are duds. At least, I hope they are. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/5 "2014-07-09T12:55:10Z")
Yeah, they’re supposed to be kept in freezers, I gather. The real concern is that a stock of smallpox went unaccounted for for several decades - so perhaps somewhere there’s a freezer with some unlabeled tubes, just waiting for some student intern to be told to clean the thing out. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/6 "2014-07-09T13:01:07Z")
Well, you know how it is. You lose your car keys, a box of Ebola virus goes missing…no biggie. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/7 "2014-07-09T13:03:09Z")
Looks like they were lyophilized, in which case there is every reason to believe that they are viable. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/8 "2014-07-09T13:16:01Z")
I really should clean out the fridge, that H1N1 vial is stuck in ice in the back. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/9 "2014-07-09T13:26:28Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Aww, and I here I was hoping to be able to blame antivaxxers. Just to be precise, smallpox vaccination has not been routine in North America for nearly 50 years. My 48 yo daughter was vaccinated once, while her 47 yo brother was not ever. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/10 "2014-07-09T13:32:47Z")
_“Very small pox.”_ ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/11 "2014-07-09T13:48:30Z")
[Here](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2324/how-long-does-a-smallpox-vaccination-protect-you) is an article by Cecil regarding smallpox in modern times. The statement that sticks with me: _…many Americans are as vulnerable to smallpox as Native Americans were at the time of first European contact._ Scary stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/12 "2014-07-09T13:50:46Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Looks like they were lyophilized, in which case there is every reason to believe that they are viable. Huh, this article says they were in a “cold room”; previous ones that I read stated they were not kept sufficiently temperature-controlled to be likely to be viable, even when freeze-dried. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/13 "2014-07-09T13:53:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Well, you know how it is. You lose your car keys, a box of Ebola virus goes missing…no biggie. I once had a temp job filing uranium loss reports for a defense contractor. A milligram here a milligram there… (I got to wear the radiation exposure badge in that job - they offered to extend my assignment - I didn’t take them up on it). ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/14 "2014-07-09T14:06:33Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Well, you know how it is. You lose your car keys, a box of Ebola virus goes missing…no biggie. Hey, it was in a storage room. It can happen. They were probably behind a box of blankets… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/15 "2014-07-09T14:09:55Z")
Makes me wonder how many paranoid people are going to spring for that vaccine now. I’ve always been a bit curious as to how the CDC could be so damn CERTAIN that there were only two places with the virus in the whole world. People aren’t really good at keeping track of things, and as I recall, it was a voluntary turn-in, so it wasn’t like there was someone going around and checking. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/16 "2014-07-09T14:40:46Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > Makes me wonder how many paranoid people are going to spring for that vaccine now. > > I’ve always been a bit curious as to how the CDC could be so damn CERTAIN that there were only two places with the virus in the whole world. People aren’t really good at keeping track of things, and as I recall, it was a voluntary turn-in, so it wasn’t like there was someone going around and checking. They probably aren’t. One of the reasons they keep a stock at CDC, and in Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/17 "2014-07-09T14:41:00Z")
“We have top men working on it. Top. Men.” ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/18 "2014-07-09T14:46:58Z")
I strongly suspect an outbreak of smallpox would finally convince the most ardent anti-vax nut of the need to vaccinate ASAP. Smallpox is one nasty assed disease. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/19 "2014-07-09T16:13:53Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Yeah, they’re supposed to be kept in freezers, I gather. The real concern is that a stock of smallpox went unaccounted for for several decades - so perhaps somewhere there’s a freezer with some unlabeled tubes, just waiting for some student intern to be told to clean the thing out. That has always been a risk and a concern. I’m not sure why anyone would think otherwise, other than not having through about it at all. > [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Looks like they were lyophilized, in which case there is every reason to believe that they are viable. They were what? I’m not familiar with that terms. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695/20 "2014-07-09T16:28:48Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > They were what? I’m not familiar with that terms. Essentially freeze drying. They will last a long, long time that way. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-smallpox-found-in-maryland/692695.md?page=2)