Dr. Leslie Norins Pens DEADLY PAGES

The aerosol spraying of insecticide recently recommended by the government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for enhanced control of Zika-bearing mosquitos could be hijacked by terrorists plotting to spread the smallpox virus, warned Dr. Leslie Norins, author of the novel, Deadly Pages.

That fictional thriller describes a terrorist plot to contaminate the printing ink of the New York Times with smallpox virus, to infect readers who touch their newspaper the next morning.

Dr. Norins explained, "With a step-up in the aerial spraying programs, nobody would be alarmed to see a small airplane overhead, spewing out clouds of white liquid 'fog'. The assumption would be that this was a normal, to-be-expected action being taken as part of bolstered mosquito control efforts in the fight against Zika virus."

He continued, "These small 'sprayer' airplanes and their tanks of insecticide are not well secured. Terrorists might be able to contaminate the liquid cargo with suspensions of deadly smallpox virus. As the tiny aerosolized droplets descended to the ground, people below would breathe them in, never knowing that they were being infected. In 7-10 days, lethal cases of smallpox disease would mysteriously start appearing."

What's preventing this dire scenario? Terrorists would have trouble acquiring smallpox virus. At present the only official stocks of it exist in Atlanta and Moscow, in government labs. But a Soviet defector reported in 1999 that a secret Russian biowarfare program had produced "tons" of the agent. Today the whereabouts of this supply is unknown.

The U.S. population is almost completely vulnerable to smallpox. Routine vaccination against the disease was discontinued in 1980, after naturally-occurring smallpox was eradicated worldwide. There is no treatment.

Some government plans exist on paper to cope with a surprise attack using smallpox, but Dr. Norins said these would be hard-pressed to control an unconventional assault producing many cases over a wider area.

Leslie Norins, MD, PhD has fifty years of experience in medical research and medical publishing. His book, Deadly Pages, is co-authored by Thomas Hauck. The book is for sale at bookstores and Amazon.com. Website: www.DeadlyPages.com