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In reply to the discussion: Cher Savages Thanksgiving: ‘I Don’t’ Celebrate the ‘Beginning of a Great Crime’ [View all]Drahthaardogs
(6,843 posts)You are confusing anthrax with smallpox. However, since you stubbornly insist that blankets are an amazing delivery system for disease, let's break this down, shall we?
First of all, we have to understand the main transmission of smallpox is through airborne aerosols of infected people. Skin to skin transmission is much more difficult.
1) A blanket (a fomite) would have to be inoculated with smallpox virus, most likely by rubbing it on open sores.
2) Since smallpox breaks down rapidly in the presence of UV light, the blanket would have to be kept dark, like in a chest. In addition, the guy doing the inoculating would have to know it breaks down in heat and light, otherwise, he would likely just folded it up like normal.
3) Even exposure is no guarantee of infection. A sufficient viral load must be present to overwhelm the immune system. It is hard to get a sufficient viral load on a blanket. It would have to be concentrated enough to cause infection. You would also have to have someone rub that blanket pretty good.
4) Purposeful inoculation of smallpox was a common occurrence. They would try to give someone smallpox in an effort to provide immunity. This was done my scraping a pustule and placing it on other person. Even with this drastic measure, death from this method was only 1/10 of a normal infection and much less severe. If we add this and the poor transmission method, and you have a DIDN'T HAPPEN scenario.
THIS is a FOMITE-SPECIFIC study by the WHO
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/67501/1/WHO_SE_72.40.pdf
It says the blanket shit did not happen...