Fines imposed for failure to report smallpox

Doctors and laboratories that fail to report an incidence of smallpox could face fines of more than $5,000 or up to six months in jail under a new amendment to the New South Wales Public Health Act.

Doctors and laboratories that fail to report an incidence of smallpox could face fines of more than $5,000 or up to six months in jail under a new amendment to the New South Wales Public Health Act.New South Wales Premier Bob Carr says the Governor has approved the amendment to help prevent smallpox being used as a biological weapon by terrorists in Australia.Premier Carr says while the risk of a smallpox attack is low, it is a contagious and sometimes fatal disease and the threat should be treated seriously.”I suppose you could say the probability of a smallpox attack is low but we do know that it has been developed as a biological weapon under the old Soviet Union and stocks may have found their way into the hands of terrorists,” he said.(Source: ABC Health News, April 2004)