A very hectic day is coming to an end. The college was busy like hell today. A VIP was visiting, and we were supposed to display our sheep like qualities at their best. The class usually ends at 9:30, but we were supposed to sit inside the lecture hall till they made sure that the guest wont be able to see even a hint of our dirty selves. So we waited till he entered the auditorium, discussing small-pox.
We were forced to see the picture of Edward Jenner for half an hour in the beginning of the lecture, which the teacher was asked to prolong by hook or by crook. The same old story about cow pox and the little boy was told again and again. It’s shocking to know that before Jenner, there existed a practice called ‘variolation’ in which the scraping from small pox lesions was applied on the skin of healthy people, quite a number of which later became resistant, though a few died too. Then came the smallpox eradication programme, which not only include vaccines, but even house arrest for people who were infected so that they die peacefully within their home instead of infecting the others. And now, when the world boasts that we are completely finished killing the devil, I am left scared like hell in here.
Remember Godsmack’s song ‘I stand alone’ ? “..you resurrrrrecteed …riight before tha final faaalingg….” I hope these men are not blind enough to ignore this. WHO still has the vaccines stored in millions in it’s closet, but the real viral samples have been destroyed in all except two laboratories. I say why ? Why the hell do they think they are so secure when the whole world is sitting on the edge of a war. Storing the vaccine is not a real solution. It is going to perish one day. Ever heard about biological war. I am quite sure, it is not a nuclear war that will end the humanity. No one wants to take the blame for such an infamous act. A superbug is more likely. It is lighter on the conscience you see. After all “it’s the bug who killed those men, not me …I am just a medium sent by God”.
It has been a recent trend in the history to ‘incapacitate’ the enemy instead of killing him. It actually brings less infamy and works better in keeping the enemy busy in transport and treatment of it’s men. The manpower which could have been used to fight is now employed in saving their fellow soldiers. Try this out on a country. Leave a deadly virus among them. It spreads like hell, even if it is not intended to. Quite a big chunk of our resources are already spent on healthcare. It would be a complete nightmare as such. The economies will be destroyed. Even the allies will be afraid to send their troops to a place where they are inn danger of infection. And money just wont help, research has a peculiar habit of being time consuming. It is just a matter of time before the fundamentalists succeed in creating a bug that would be resistant to the WHO vaccines. Till then, the scientific community should be working head to heel in creating newer modes of treatment to fight the old devil…
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