HIV took 20 years to reach 50 million infected. Without countermeasures, smallpox could reach that number in 10-20 weeks. YIKES!
HIV is genetically simple: about 20 genes. The smallpox virus is astoundingly complex: about 200 genes. That's like comparing a bicycle to a fully-loaded Cadillac with all the extra features.
Source: Demon in the Freezer, by Richard Preston
No comments:
Post a Comment