Was smallpox really transmitted by Blankets?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/13/science/13mqa.html?ref=health

Scientists are trying to determine if a virus, like smallpox, can be transmitted from a scab to a person. There is a myth that the Europeans infected the Native Americans with smallpox by giving them blankets covered in smallpox. The only way this could actually happen is if the blanket contained smallpox scabs. Viruses have the ability to live in a scab longer than in a “wet” form like droplets. But now we do not have to worry about contracting small pox because it has been eradicated, thanks to vaccinations.

But, there are still some samples left in high security labs around the world being used for research. This is possible by refrigeration. Refrigerators have the ability to freeze the virus and keep it. Refrigerators function by electrons giving energy to a metallic part which creates the motor. This is electromagnetism in action. Not to mention most refrigerators can be induced to being magnetic conductors by placing magnets on them.