Vaccinia Virus News and Research

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The vaccinia virus is the "live virus" used in the smallpox vaccine. It is a "pox"-type virus related to smallpox. When given to humans as a vaccine, it helps the body to develop immunity to smallpox. The smallpox vaccine does not contain the smallpox virus and it cannot cause smallpox.

Food timing may shape how T cells respond to infection and therapy

Short-term nutritional state can reshape T cell metabolism, with post-meal lipid metabolism enhancing T cell metabolic capacity, cytokine production, and persistence after activation. The study identifies triglyceride-rich chylomicrons as key drivers of this effect, suggesting nutritional timing may matter for immune monitoring, vaccination research, and cell-therapy manufacturing.

30 Apr 2026

Study reveals poxvirus's unique DNA clamp for gene activation

A research team at the University of Würzburg has deciphered another aspect of poxviral gene activation.

18 Feb 2026

Mpox virus poses rising global epidemic and pandemic threat

Insufficient research on mpox hinders effective control strategies, emphasizing the need to understand its transmission and immune response mechanisms.

7 Apr 2025

Engineering safe and effective vaccinia virus vectors for next-generation vaccines

Announcing a new article publication for Zoonoses journal. Vaccinia virus (VACV) confers cross-protective immunity against the variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox, and has therefore been extensively exploited as a preventive vaccine. Despite the global eradication of smallpox in the 1980s, research efforts involving VACV have continued due to the potential threat of the variola virus being used as a bioweapon, which poses grave risks to human health.

14 Feb 2025

New single-chain mRNA vaccines offer enhanced immunity and protection against mpox

Study reveals single-chain mRNA vaccines confer 100% protection against lethal mpox challenge in mice, marking a significant advancement in vaccine technology.

22 Oct 2024

Responding to Mpox: Global outbreak, research innovations, and therapeutic strategies

In August 2024, the WHO declared Mpox (formerly known as Monkeypox) a global health emergency due to rising Clade I Mpox cases in Africa and Sweden, highlighting the urgency for coordinated global efforts to monitor and mitigate the spread of the virus.

From Sino Biological Inc. 22 Aug 2024

New immunogenic strain of vaccinia virus unveils potent cancer therapy potential

Vaccinia viruses are therapeutic tools with different biomedical applications depending on the susceptibility characteristics.

24 May 2024

Research suggests booster doses may be necessary for monkeypox immunity

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2024) in Barcelona, Spain (27-30 April) shows that even in men who receives two doses of mpox vaccine intradermally, their level of antibodies to the virus falls to low or zero within the first few months if they have not received a previous smallpox vaccine.

1 Apr 2024

Study reveals waning antibody response to monkeypox vaccine over time

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2024) in Barcelona, Spain (27-30 April) shows that the antibodies produced by Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara - Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN) vaccination against mpox wane significantly within a year of receiving the vaccination – but in people with pre-existing immunity due to childhood smallpox vaccination in childhood, antibody levels remain high in almost all cases.

1 Apr 2024

Unraveling the architecture of poxvirus cores

A recent re-emergence and outbreak of Mpox brought poxviruses back as a public health threat, underlining an important knowledge gap at their core.

6 Feb 2024

Study sheds light on global laboratory-acquired infections and pathogen escapes

Study analyzes global incidents of laboratory-acquired infections and accidental pathogen escapes from 2000 to 2021, highlighting the need for improved biosafety protocols and reporting systems.

17 Dec 2023

Monkeypox mimics smallpox vaccine's immune response, new study reveals

The study in Nature Communications reveals that MPOX infection triggers an anti-viral antibody response akin to that from smallpox vaccination. Utilizing a comprehensive array of ELISAs, scientists found a high level of specificity and sensitivity in detecting antibodies against both MPOX and smallpox, offering a new, accurate way to measure immune responses.

26 Sep 2023

Game-changing point-of-care assay could revolutionize Mpox detection worldwide

Researchers developed a point-of-care assay for the rapid detection of mpox virus.

20 Sep 2023

Study assesses duration of protection offered by smallpox infection and possible cross-reaction with Mpox virus

More than 43 years ago, many Chinese residents were vaccinated with the vaccinia virus Tiantan strain (VTT) to protect them from smallpox infection.

19 Sep 2023

Human challenge trials: A game-changer in vaccine development? Examining their role in shaping the pandemic response

The history of using human challenge trials in developing vaccines.

15 Aug 2023

Oncolytic viruses could be used to 'warm up' cold tumors and improve immunotherapy

Equipping cancer-infecting, or oncolytic, viruses with tumor-inhibiting genetic cargo stimulates the immune system and helps immunotherapy to shrink or completely clear aggressive tumors in mice, according to a new study in the Journal of Experimental Medicine led by University of Pittsburgh and UPMC researchers.

14 Aug 2023

Radiation combined with cancer-targeting virus therapy more effective in fighting brain tumors

Combining a cancer-targeting virus with radiation to treat brain cancer in mice was more effective than either therapy on its own according to University of Alberta research, providing hope for new treatments that combine immunotherapy with traditional surgery, chemotherapy or radiation.

20 Jun 2023

Research identifies Th1 memory CD4+ T cells as key to protect against emerging poxvirus skin infections

Researchers demonstrate that T helper 1 effector memory cluster of differentiation 4 T cells provide immunity against poxviruses

27 Apr 2023

Candidate hepatitis C mRNA vaccine induces protective immunity in animal model

In a recent study published in the npj vaccines journal, researchers assessed the immune protection elicited by messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines delivering Hepatitis C virus (HCV) E1 and modified E2.

23 Mar 2023

CDC recommendations and clinical considerations for the treatment of severe Mpox

In a recent article published in the United States (U.S.) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a team of researchers discussed the medical countermeasures and clinical considerations for treating severe manifestations of Mpox.

6 Mar 2023