By FRED HOLLETT
Star Staff Writer
NEW YORK -- A massive hunt is on by police and health officials here for per- sons who came in contact with a Canadian smallpox| victim who passed through New York Aug. 11.
James William Orr, 14, spent 6½ hours in a waiting room of Grand Central station after flying into Idlewild airport and taking a taxi to the train depot.
The boy, en route to Toronto from Brazil with his missionary father and family, could have come into contact with as many as 2,000 per- sons at both the station and airport, said Dr. Harold Fuerst, director of the bureau of preventable diseases of New York's health department.
Eight Centres
New York yesterday set up eight vaccination centres for persons who came in contact with the boy. Today it will start daily checks with those known to have been in con- tact. Dr. Fuerst said. "The next three days are the critical ones," Dr. Fuerst said.
Those who were in contact with James could not pass on the dread disease unless they themselves come down with it, he added. It takes roughly two weeks for smallpox to incubate, Dr. Fuerst said. James is now in Toronto's Riverdale Isolation hospital. He was Toronto's first case of smallpox since 1932. There hasn't been a case in the U.S. since 1947.
Main object of the hunt by, police and health officials for those who were in contact: with James is the cab driver who drove James from Idlewild to Grand Central station.
"He's our main concern because he spent an hour trip with the boy and could possibly pass the disease on to many more people," said Jack Roach, public relations officer of the New York Health Department.
There are 12,400 cabs in; New York city and about, 40,000 drivers.
By early this morning close? to 1,000 residents had gone to special around-the-clock immunization clinics for emergency smallpox vaccinations.
"Just Worried"
"Many of those were not ones we wanted but just worried citizens," Dr. Fuerst said.
"It don't believe there is any need for a city-wide immunization program," he said. "There is sufficient vaccine available for our purpose. We maintain a large stockpile."
Dr. Fuerst said his department will "begin intensive surveillance activities with those we know about who came in contact with the boy, 50 or 60 to begin with.
"We'll make daily visits to every contact we know about and, at the first sign of illness, hospitalize them. "The risk is not great (while the disease is incubating) but there are four to six weeks during which a person could pass it on," Dr. Fuerst said.
"We are broadcasting requests for those directly exposed (to James) to come for- ward," he said.
"This is the main thing." added Dr. Fuerst, who said he "hasn't noticed" any indication of panic among New Yorkers.
Hourly Bulletins
Hourly bulletins on 17 area radio stations and news flashes on seven television stations warned everyone who was in Grand Central station waiting room while James was there to get smallpox shots.
So far health officials have! been disappointed by the turnout at clinics. They hope, today's newspapers will alert citizens to "the very real danger."
Two morning newspapers --the News and the Mirror-- devoted their entire front page to the smallpox alert.
The lead sentence in the Herald-Tribune's front page story was a single word --"Smallpox!" It compared the disease with "a medieval plague."
Police and health officials are also looking for two porters and several plane passengers who came in close contact with the boy.
Most of 72 airline pas sengers who came here from Brazil with the boy have been vaccinated or told to get vaccinated.
Busy Centres
Idlewild and Grand Central station are New York's busiest transportation centres.
Doctor William D. M. Harris, of the preventable disease division, said: "If we've got any cases of smallpox on our hands they should start to break out by Wednesday."
He said: "We won't be through the woods for an- other two weeks.
"If any cases break out Wednesday we just don't know what we'll do because there is not much in the way of a cure for smallpox," Dr. Harris said.
Officials expect smallpox panic to race through the city today as workers return after the weekend. They hope to be flooded with people at each special vaccination centre.
Yesterday more than 400 people were vaccinated at city clinics and close to 500 more at U.S. health centres at Idlewild and Grand Central. A health official said the turnout so far "is just not nearly enough considering the number of people who must have been in contact with the boy."
Small Hours
He said clinics will be kept open "as many days as necessary to cover the load."
Meanwhile through the small hours of this morning citizens trickled through the main clinic on Worth St. in almost completely deserted lower Manhattan.
Rock and roll singer Ginny Angel came for her vaccination because she was at Idlewild August 11 with a girl friend. She got her vaccination on her leg "for beauty reasons."
Bill and Judy Silver, of Kansas City came for immunization because they were at Idlewild six hours after the Orr boy "and don't want to take any chances."
Teddy Heller came because he works at the Grand Central waiting room and remembers "talking to a young kid last Saturday."
Eugene and Margaret Freund, came because they had relatives who were on the plane with the Orr family.
And Robert Margosian got ivaccinated at 2.16 a.m. because he delivered mail to Grand Central.
A health official says "Most of the people getting vaccinated are scared and probably don't need it but this is the only way to get to the people who may have met the boy."
"The trail is already a week old and it's hard to pick up." he said.