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http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,5212886%255E15574,00.html

Govt buying smallpox vaccine

02oct02

THE first shipment of smallpox vaccine destined for a medical stockpile to be used in case of terrorism will arrive in Australia in the next few weeks, the Federal Health Department said.

The Department is finalising contracts to import an initial 50,000 doses of the vaccine, Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer Richard Smallwood said.

"While the risk to Australia of a terrorist releasing smallpox virus is assessed as very low, the importation of smallpox vaccine is another prudent step in our preparations to respond to threats to human health from biological agents," Professor Smallwood said in a statement.

Smallpox was certified as eradicated in December 1979, but some stocks of the virus remain in some laboratories for research purposes.

There are fears it could be acquired by terrorists for biological weapons.

One of the two main forms of the disease, variola major, has a fatality rate of 30 per cent, according to the World Health Organisation.

The first shipment will be purchased from vaccine manufacturer Aventis Pasteur of France.

Additional smallpox vaccines would be bought from another supplier and would arrive in Australia early next year.

"The (purchase) means Australia will have an adequate supply of vaccine to effectively manage a smallpox outbreak anywhere in Australia," Prof Smallwood said.

"Today's announcement should be seen as an important step by federal health authorities to improve Australia's bioterrorism response capability.

"We also have commitments from the World Health Organisation and the American Centres for Disease Control to provide additional smallpox vaccine into Australia should that prove necessary."

Mass vaccinations of citizens were not planned, Prof Smallwood said.

"Smallpox vaccines are not risk free and can have severe side effects, including death in a small number of cases," he said.

"The current response strategy is to keep the vaccine in a secure location and deploy it to affected areas in the event of the discovery of a case of smallpox in Australia.

"Vaccination within days of exposure to smallpox usually gives total protection."

The smallpox vaccine has been acquired under an $11.4 million program announced in the May federal Budget to stockpile a range of antibiotics, vaccines, antiviral drugs, chemical antidotes and diagnostic tests.

The stockpile will be kept in several secure locations around Australia and will be able to be deployed to any Australian city in a matter of hours, the department said.

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