Smallpox News and Research

RSS

Smallpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the variola virus, a member of the Orthopox virus family. It is one of the most devastating diseases known to humanity, with a mortality rate as high as 30%. In 1967, the World Health Organization embarked upon an intensified vaccination campaign to eliminate smallpox, which culminated in the successful eradication of the disease globally by 1980.

By the mid-1980s, there were only two known repositories of variola virus: the Institute of Virus Preparations in Russia, and the US CDC. The events in the US in September and October 2001 highlighted the risk that the variola virus might be used as an agent of bioterrorism. Governments around the world are taking precautionary measures to be ready to deal with a potential smallpox outbreak.

Evolution of vaccine adjuvants from empirical discovery to rational design

Vaccine adjuvants have evolved significantly since their inception, transitioning from empirical discovery to a more structured approach grounded in rational drug design.

13 Sep 2024

Mpox inactivated in 60 seconds with Σ-MM™ & patient friendly collection swab

In the wake of the global Mpox outbreak in non-endemic countries in 2022, the medical community has been searching for safer and more efficient ways to transport and test virus samples, especially from patients in areas with limited biological containment facilities.

From Medical Wire 6 Sep 2024

Healthcare workers unprepared for mpox outbreak due to knowledge gaps and vaccine inequity

Research highlights significant gaps in healthcare workers' knowledge of mpox during the 2022-2023 outbreaks, emphasizing the need for better global preparedness and equitable vaccine access.

27 Aug 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

State COVID-19 vaccine mandates increased vaccine uptake among healthcare workers in 2021

Researchers investigated the relationship between state COVID-19 vaccination mandates for healthcare workers and vaccination rates among them.

19 Aug 2024

Tecovirimat shows no significant impact on mpox lesion duration in DRC study

The antiviral drug tecovirimat did not reduce the duration of mpox lesions among children and adults with clade I mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), based on an initial analysis of data from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

16 Aug 2024

Renewed mpox threat finds public unprepared

It has been two years since the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency over an outbreak of mpox, a disease endemic to Africa that had spread to scores of countries. Now, in the summer of 2024, a deadlier version of the infectious disease has spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to other African nations, the strain that originally hit the United States has shown signs of a resurgence, and this week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new alert on mpox to health care providers.

9 Aug 2024

Mathematical models reveal how steam travel escalated global pathogen risks during historical sea voyages

Researchers used mathematical modeling to study historical shipborne pathogen risks, finding steam travel and large-scale people movement significantly elevated transoceanic pathogen circulation.

18 Jul 2024

New deadly strain of mpox found in DRC could spread exponentially among humans

Concerns are growing about an outbreak of deadly mpox caused by a novel, sexually transmitted strain of the virus in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

5 Jul 2024

4 ways vaccine skeptics mislead you on measles and more

Measles is on the rise in the United States. So far this year, the number of cases is about 17 times what it was, on average, during the same period in each of the four years before, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

22 May 2024

Perspective delves into the rising threat of the MPX virus

Scientist at NIAID reviews the escalating global prevalence of the MPX virus, detailing its biology and transmission modes, and the urgent need for comprehensive research to understand and control its spread effectively.

13 May 2024

50 years of lifesaving vaccinations: WHO's EPI saves 154 million lives

The World Health Organization’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) has prevented 154 million deaths since 1974, significantly reducing global infant mortality and contributing 10.2 billion years of healthy life due to vaccinations.

7 May 2024

154 million lives saved: Landmark study highlights power of vaccination

A major landmark study to be published by The Lancet reveals that global immunization efforts have saved an estimated 154 million lives – or the equivalent of 6 lives every minute of every year – over the past 50 years.

25 Apr 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

Tracing Monkeypox virus: Leveraging ancient orangutan DNA to investigate the 1965 Rotterdam Zoo outbreak

Ancient DNA analysis of museum-preserved orangutan teeth reveals the cause of the 1965 zoo outbreak in the Netherlands as monkeypox virus (MPXV) infections, demonstrating the power of museomic techniques in tracing historic viral transmissions.

12 Mar 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

INSIS study unveils secrets of rare vaccine events, shaping future immunizations

A University of Alberta professor is co-leading a new international vaccine safety network to examine why some people who received a COVID-19 vaccine experienced very rare adverse events associated with the vaccine.

17 Jan 2024

Research shows how the immune system keeps Herpes simplex virus at bay

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is extremely common, affecting nearly two-thirds of the world's population, according to the World Health Organization.

14 Dec 2023

Smaller mpox vaccine doses and intradermal delivery elicit detectable immune response, study shows

Delivering the two-dose mpox vaccine, called JYNNEOS, in smaller than the usual FDA-approved doses, and by injection between layers of the skin rather than by the standard route under the skin, produced a detectable immune response, a new study shows.

13 Dec 2023