X-cs:
From: Self <LCMS-1/TOBIN>
To: bogus at no.return.address ,
Subject: Re: Re: A Modest Proposal
Date: 20 Sep 94 17:58:14
Sorry to post this, but I don't feel like learning how to respond to
anonymous posts today.
>
> > Problems:
> > 1. Although over-population is a real problem, underpopulation could
> > also hurt the global society.
>> Society would change greatly of course. Probably for the better. Less
> resources allocated for reproduction means more resources allocatable to
> improving the quality of life.
Realize that this proposal would be met with formidable challenge
from many different sources
>
> > 2. Virus would need to constantly replicate to induce enough sperm-
> > specific IgA in the vaginal canal.
>> Not necessarily. For example, if the immunological target was proteins
> imvolved in implantation, rendering the host sensitive to these proteins might
> be enough. Repeated exposure to an endemic vector would repeatedly boost the
> stimulated host immune response.
Difficult to break immunological self-recognition to mount an
effective autoimmune response in a healthy human. Especially
difficult to produce a useful IgA response (IgG probably not
effective) with a single one-week exposure.
>
> > 3. The purpetrators would have a great deal of control over
where the
> > infection starts, etc. and who would first be immunized against
> > the vector.
>> The ideal scenario would be to release the agent simultaneously in all the
> densely overpopulated urban areas of the world. From there it would quickly
> spread to non-urban populations.
>> > 4. Immunization against the vector would defeat the purpose. This would
>> > be done in developed countries within a few years of discovering
> > the crime. Thus this is a formula for reducing the population of
> > the _developing_ world only. If this is reprehensible, then here
> > is another problem!
>> There are lots of viruses that have no effective vaccines against them,
> including the common cold. I propose to start with one of these. I
> specifically want to avoid making it easy for wealthy countries could evade
> the agent.
Most common colds are caused by rhinoviruses. Because there are 114
serotypes, an effective vaccine that induces multi-type immunity has
not been made. A genetic construct (perhaps the insertion of a
few relevent epitopes into the capsid genes) would be made with a
single serotype. The identity of this serotype would be discovered
relatively quickly and a vaccine can be made for that type of
rhinovirus. Hence, you would have to make a series of recombinants
to be released sequentially.
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>>--
Greg Tobin, Ph.D. tobin at lcms-1.ncifcrf.gov
LCMS
PO Box B
Frederick, MD 21702
