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Weird Friday, March 1st 2013 at 3:05 pm

Men Who Get Smallpox Vaccine Can Pass Along Related Virus As An STD

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This week brought us the strangest CDC report we’ve read in some time when a man who received a shot of smallpox vaccine passed along a related virus to another man as an STD, which was then passed to a third man. If we were talking about anything but smallpox here, this bizarre scenario would be a case where the cure is worse than the disease, but since the disease is smallpox, that’s not true. Because nothing is worse than smallpox. Nothing.

It’s important to note here that the virus being passed along is not the actual smallpox virus, but the closely related vaccinia virus, which one researcher described as a “kissing cousin” to smallpox, and which helps vaccine recipients develop immunity to the more serious form of the disease. While it’s unnerving, resulting in sores and a rash that are similar to those found in smallpox, the vaccinia virus is much milder, and both infected men were treated and recovered without incident.

Though it’s mild, the disease is quite contagious, and if the itchy rash the vaccine results in isn’t kept covered it can spread to other parts of the body and even other people. And now that it’s been demonstrated that vaccinia can be sexually transmitted through someone who hasn’t even gotten the vaccine, there’s just one more reason to wrap it up. Safe sex saves lives, folks, and it can prevent you from having something like smallpox. Which, even if it isn’t technically smallpox, is pretty embarrassing and unpleasant.

(via Medical Xpress)

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  • Idlethoughts

    Wasn’t small pox eradicated, save for a few government labs? If so why is the vaccine still being distributed?

  • http://www.facebook.com/ckstopford C Karen Stopford

    And this is what they want to test in New York?

  • cass

    More reason I’m so upset my husband was vaccinated against his will and wish and NO, if I get an STD from him from a vaccine he got against his will it is not his fault or my fault. Being married and monogamous means we shouldn’t have to wrap it up. Say no to vaccines

  • cass

    …This was caused by vaccines not lack of protection which this couple may have been using

  • cass

    …my husband by the way is in the Navy

  • imadoctor

    These disease are gone because of vaccination. Once vaccination stops these “eradicated” disease return.

  • http://www.facebook.com/kchara ‘Kristi Gambrel Kerr

    Mine too, in the Army. Ridiculous. It’s been quite a while, nearly 10 years, and many pregnancies later, BUT, I wish I had known this then… They weren’t even supposed to vax him until he deployed, as we had a small baby in the house. They did anyway. It was more convenient.

  • http://www.facebook.com/SnowBambiLpz A Nunnayabidness Lopez

    This is simply untrue. Don’t believe the garbage the doctors and big pharmaceutical companies feed you. They profit off of these monster vaccines, that’s why they tell you that they are good for you, and that they rid the world of these diseases. Vaccinations are toxic- and that’s that. Vaccinations did not eradicate any virus or disease- they were already on a steady decline before the vaccinations were introduced. Actually, in somc cases after the vaccinations were initially introduced, the particular disease they were supposed to help against became more rampant for a short while again before continuing to follow the downward trend. The things that ACTUALLY “eradicated” these horrible diseases and viruses was as simple as proper hygiene- cleaning up the water supplies by either no longer diverting the sewage into said drinking area- or by properly filtering and treating their water supply. Another huge thing is that a lot of people that dealt with these outbreaks had poor nutrition, due to inability to afford good food, drought, famine- and so on. Without clean water, and proper nutrition, of course you’re going to fall apart… That is why so many unfortunate people around the world still suffer from outbreaks of certain diseases and viruses that are otherwise “Eradicated” in our own personal worlds today. Unfortunately, with the introduction of genetically modified organisms as foods- and the governments push to add additional toxins to our bodies without our knowing via water supplies, food, drinks and VACCINES- we’re in a sick and dying world once again. Open your eyes, and consider that what you know about vaccines may not in fact be truth… Just look it up. Vaccines are sickness and death in a syringe.

  • pharmastudent

    I believe they vaccinate soldiers out of fear that small pox will be used as a biological weapon.

  • pharmastudent

    That’s not true. You can’t contract a disease if nobody else can infect you with it. And smallpox vaccinations are only used in rare situations.

  • pharmastudent

    I’m going to break this down for you:

    1) There are an awful lot of doctors and scientists and pharmaceutical companies in this world, I think it’s pretty unbelievable that all of these people are covering up one big conspiracy.

    2) Vaccines, like any other medicine, undergo medical trials before they are allowed to get marketed. These trials prove that vaccines are safe and effective.

    3) Vaccines don’t contain toxins, they contain parts of the virus that have been made harmless. The immune system recognises these parts and develops memory cells against the virus, so next time you get infected, there is a much quicker response.

    4) Obviously, better hygiene must have helped in the decline of several diseases, but as long as humans are in contact with each other, diseases can be transmitted.

    5) Same with nutrition, better nutrition will give you a bigger chance of survival when you get sick, but it won’t keep you from ever getting sick. No matter how healthy your diet is, you can still catch a cold.

    6) I don’t think you know what genetically modified means. These things are very carefully controlled. If we want to be able to feed the entire population of earth, we are going to need things like genetic modification to harvest more with the same surface.

    7) If everyone is trying to kill us with “toxins”, why are life expectations still going up?

  • Colormehealthy

    Pharmastudent, I’m going to break this down for you.

    1. Unfortunately, many doctors receive little training in nutrition (let medicine by thy food) and it seems a great deal of training is in managing drugs, drug interactions, side effects, etc. There are many scientists that have tried to speak out, but are shut out by powerful corporate or government agencies. Most doctors and scientists are well meaning individuals that are caught up in a system that isn’t always health promoting. We have a serious rise of chronic illnesses with the solution being another pill.

    2. History has shown us that medical trials do not guarantee safety or efficacy. Many drugs have been taken off the market due to adverse events. The trials are not always long enough, large enough, incorporating all lifestyle factors or interactions. Additionally, a company may conduct several trials and only submit the trials that had desired results even though other trials may not have produced positive results. Having worked in pharmaceutical manufacturing with knowledge of cGMPs, I have seen many products recalled for a variety of reasons. If you go to the FDA website, you will see many recalls for a variety of reasons. Companies manufacturing vaccines were shut down by the FDA due to manufacturing problems.

    3. The intent of vaccines was that they contain parts of the virus that are harmless, but immune response can vary and there are other “ingredients” in vaccines to “aid” in delivery that are potentially harmful.

    4. I agree. Hygiene has helped and yes, diseases can be transmitted. The healthier your immune system, the easier it will be to fight off these diseases. Many people getting vaccinated, still get sick.

    5. Yes, nutrition improves survival and won’t prevent you from ever getting sick, but it can improve recovery time and the frequency of illness is less. Natural immunity is best.

    6. Genetically modified organisms are not carefully controlled. Why is Monsanto suing farmers for patent infringement when the seed enter the farmers fields from winds blowing, pollination, etc. Why is more than 90% of soy in the U.S. now genetically engineered? Do some more research in this area. The issues of feeding the world are not going to be solved using GMOs. There is enough food. The issue is lack of accessibility and government corruption. Research what Monsanto seed has done to countries like Paraguay.
    7. Chronic diseases in the U.S. have sky rocketed. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that GMOs and other toxins are contributing to food allergies, autoimmune disorders, and a host of other problems.
    I could elaborate for pages on each of these points, but won’t. Many books and research papers have been written in all of these areas. I think you should do more research. How often have we been told that something is safe only to find out later that it wasn’t. Don’t underestimate the power of corporations, lobbying interests, and government to steer the population wrong. Corporate and government cover-ups happen all the time. What about the auto manufacturer who didn’t recall cars that were exploding on impact because their bean counters determined that it was less costly to pay law suits than to recall all of the cars. Or how about the companies that knowingly contaminated ground water resulting in illness or death for thousands of people, but tried to cover it up. Or the egg farmer that knowingly sold millions of eggs contaminated with salmonella and were subsequently shut down. I could write books on similar stories. Life expectations might be going up, but so are chronic illnesses. There is a lot of money to be made in treating illness.

  • pharmanotforme

    I hate to break it to you ‘pharmastudent’ but there ARE doctors who say vaccines aren’t safe, and especially in the amount given to children at one time in their first years. If vaccines didn’t cause problems why is there a national vaccine payoff program for those people who have been hurt? The vaccines go through trials funded by the same companies who produce the vaccine – kind of a conflict of interest don’t you think? If vaccines were safe, why do they keep taking ones off the market that they supposedly ‘tested for safety’? For instance the recent recall over the birth control called ‘Yaz’?
    Vaccines are effective? How about outbreaks of things like whooping cough or flu’s IN the populations of VACCINATED people? That’s effective? Safe?
    How about the increase of 250% of rates of autism? I know you science types have discounted the autism trials, but the facts don’t lie.
    Vaccines create memory in your system to fight the virus? Why do vaccines only last 2-10 years in our bodies then? Why do virus’s out there keep mutating to battle the vaccines we use, that then make scientists create more vaccines. We are up to how many vaccines? 48 in the first 2 years of life? How about the use of Thermosol? Thermosol stays in the brain forever? The body can’t shed it from the system.
    Hygiene WAS a huge help in eradicating many diseases, vaccines were helpful especially in instances like childhood polio, but what about vaccines for things like mumps, measles and chicken pox? Yes, I understand that older people and people with very compromised immune systems get very sick from those diseases and can die. That’s a really horrible thing. Some of those people are exempt from getting vaccinations because of the nature of what’s in the vaccine and how their bodies can’t tolerate it. You say that’s what herd immunity is for and we need to have 90% to keep everyone safe. Far more deaths occur with vaccinations than with allowing people to get sick and let their bodies get healthy naturally. I’ve heard it said that’s just the sad reality and that the whole is more important than the individual. Tell that to a mom who’s just lost her baby due to a unnecessary vaccine.
    Yes, we can catch colds, that doesn’t mean we should vaccinate against it. You can’t improve on nature, so why are we trying?
    Genetically Modified means that the plant was changed at the molecular level. Almost all other countries ban GMO’s. There has NOT been enough testing of GMO’s and most testing is done BY the companies, like Montsano, who fund GMO research and development. No, we don’t need GMO plants to feed the planet. We have more than enough food on this planet if people stop worrying about growing lawns our big concrete fields for parking cars, if we went back to a natural way of taking care of ourselves it would be way easier to take care of people in need. You think the government cares so much for those in need? Why are they telling soup kitchens for the homeless that they aren’t allowed to accept meat from organizations like ‘Hunters for the Hungry” or not to accept food donations from local citizens cause ‘the canned food varies in nutritional content’.
    Life expectations are going up? The US has the highest infant death mortality of any industrialized nation. We have the highest childhood obesity and childhood diabetes in history. In 20 or 30 years, will our life expectancy still be going up? Or do you think these children who are raised on a strict schedule of vaccinations, fast food nation and video games will be living to 70 or 80 years? I’d bet my life not.

  • Idlethoughts

    Thanks I’m glad I could get at least one sensible answer.

  • pissedoffnurse

    Whoever infected the other person sexually, is the one at fault. I am a army civilian nurse and I administer smallpox vaccine 5x’s a week. We tell the Army and Air Force members “NO SEX the next 48 hours due to the smallpox antigens being highly concentrated in sylivia, seman and vaginal fluids.” They are also told to keep vaccinated area covered when around people and at night when sleeping with a bandage and a shirt sleeve long enough to cover the area. You would be amazed the number of people I have to make put down their cell phones to get them to pay attention! I am so sick of folk calling foul when they did not do what they are suppose to do! They are required to watch a film and then they are required to have a second briefing from the nurse. They are given written instructions too to go home with. Whose fault is it if you do not follow directions? You can abstain from sex for 2 days married people. If your spouse is military and deploys you go without much longer if you and he/she are as faithful as you claim!!