With Rise of Monkeypox, Smallpox Vaccine Offered; Kidnapped Workers Freed in Peru; WLANs on Hold for Safety Check; Cities Look to Recoup Antiterrorism Costs; N. Korean Ships Face Scrutiny

With Rise of Monkeypox, Smallpox Vaccine Offered

According to a story in todays New York Times, federal health officials are expected to announce today that smallpox vaccinations will be made available to certain people who have been exposed to prairie dogs and other animals infected with monkeypox in recent days. Smallpox vaccine is considered the most dangerous of human immunizations, but it can protect against monkeypox. Those eligible for the vaccine would be health workers who care for patients with monkeypox, people who have been exposed to animals sick with monkeypox, veterinarians who care for animals suspected of having it and scientists investigating monkeypox. The Times reports that investigation of human monkeypox cases expanded to a fourth state, New Jersey, yesterday as the number of suspected monkeypox cases rose to 50: 23 in Indiana, 20 in Wisconsin, 6 in Illinois and 1 in New Jersey. These are the first cases ever detected in America; no one has died. In its coverage of the issue, the Washington Post reports that two states have imposed emergency bans on the sale of prairie dogs. Health workers in protective gear are visiting homes and pet stores where the animals live. And officials are pleading with pet owners not to release prairie dogs or other exotic pets into the wild, fearing the uncontrolled spread of the monkeypox virus.Kidnapped Workers Freed in PeruCNN.com, more than 70 workers building a major gas project in southeastern Peru were freed “safe and sound” one day after being kidnapped by Shining Path rebels, President Alejandro Toledo said. He also said the hostages were freed without paying the kidnapperswho were demanding $1 million, weapons and high-technology communications gear from Techint, the company that leads a group building the 430-mile pipeline from gas fields in the southeastern jungle to the Pacific coast. Last year, 10 people were killed by a Shining Path car bomb outside the U.S. embassy in Lima.

According to a Reuters report on

WLANs on Hold for Safety CheckThe Register today, Somerset County Council has a radiation working group looking into the risks of wireless network technology. The commission told The Register, “As a precaution, until they have completed their investigation SCC Health & Safety Unit put out a statement recommending that, at the moment, wireless networks should not be installed in the workplace.

In Great Britain, one county commission has advised its employees not to install wireless networks in the county’s schools and offices until it has carried out a full investigation into the safety of the technology. According to a story in

Cities Look to Recoup Antiterrorism CostsOrange County Register, Anaheim and police agencies across Orange County are seeking grants and reimbursements from the federal government for homeland security costs that they are incurring in the wake of heightened terror alerts and for anti-terrorism training. Anaheim, home to Disneyland, has four of the top five terrorist targets in Orange County, and has spent $775,762 in related overtime expenses, the paper reports. Anaheim has not allocated any additional money for homeland security costs during a budget crunch caused largely by reduced tourism revenue.

Costs for policing high-profile events and venues in the post-Sept. 11 era have escalated for cities across the United States, while federal funding for increased anti-terrorism measures has been slow. According to the

N. Korean Ships Face ScrutinyChosun Ilbo, the United States, Japan and Australia are working together on ways to make it easier to stop North Korean ships suspected of carrying drugs and missile parts. Australian diplomat Ashton Calvert will meet with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in Tokyo to discuss the proposals. Downer stressed that the three countries were not discussing a blockade of North Korean ships. International law currently requires that vessels that might be going through the high seas not be intercepted. Downer noted there was “good international support” for discussion of changes to international maritime law, but stressed the need to include China in future talks.

According to a report in the English version of South Koreas