Smallpox News and Research

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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.

COVID-19 vaccines and reports of menstrual disorders

A new study estimates the potential relationship between COVID-19 vaccines and menstrual disorders.

11 Apr 2022

World Tuberculosis Day 2022: an interview with Dr. Maxine Caws

For World Tuberculosis Day 2022, News Medical spoke to Dr. Maxine Caws to raise awareness of this infectious disease.

24 Mar 2022

Pfizer CEO pushes yearly shots for covid. Not so fast, experts say.

When Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said March 13 that all Americans would need a second booster shot, it struck many covid experts as a self-serving remark without scientific merit. It also set off spasms of doubt over the country's objectives in its fight against the coronavirus.

21 Mar 2022

SARS-CoV-2 in diabetes pathogenesis

Researchers reviewed the causes of diabetes mellitus, focusing on respiratory viruses, including influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2.

15 Mar 2022

Neanderthal gene makes people susceptible to COVID-19, but protects against HIV

A study recently published in the top-tier journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) shows how a specific gene flow from Neandertals can act as a double-edged sword by increasing the risk for the development of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and at the same time decreasing the risk for the infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

23 Feb 2022

The emergence of infectious diseases from the "germ’s eye view”

The study highlighted that the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that human societies remain ill-prepared and susceptible to novel infectious diseases.

16 Feb 2022

Government asks experts to inform the refresh of UK's Biological Security Strategy

The Government is today (Wednesday 16 February) asking for health and security experts to inform the refresh of the UK's Biological Security Strategy, which aims to protect the country from a range of biological threats, including emerging infectious diseases and potential misuse by hostile actors.

15 Feb 2022

A relative COVID-19 survival analysis

Researchers from the University of California Riverside, Texas A & M University, Washington University, and the Medical College of Georgia have been investigating the risks of death by age due to COVID-19 infection compared to deaths by other causes in Hubei province, China.

3 Feb 2022

Final push needed to achieve full eradication of Guinea worm disease

The number of human cases of Guinea worm disease halved in 2021 to a record low of 14, putting the goal of global eradication in sight, the US-based Carter Center has announced.

1 Feb 2022

Study identifies cellular receptors for alphaviruses shared across mosquitoes, humans, and animals

A new study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School has identified a set of cellular receptors for at least three related alphaviruses shared across mosquitoes, humans, and animals that host the virus.

17 Jan 2022

Nanovaccines and their immunomodulatory effect against human viruses

A review ]presented the primary progress of nanovaccines against the main viral illnesses.

13 Jan 2022

Investigating potential cross-protection against SARS-CoV-2 after previous exposure to bovine coronavirus

Researchers have conducted an investigation to probe the similarity of viral epitopes between bovine coronavirus (BCoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

17 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2 transmission through indoor aerosols

A recent review published in the International Journal of Indoor Environment and Health presents the science behind the person-to-person transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in an indoor environment.

14 Dec 2021

How LA, calling the shots on school vaccine mandates, can lead the way on covid rules

On March 31, 1977, as a measles epidemic swept through Los Angeles, the county health department issued an ultimatum to the parents of the county's 1.6 million schoolchildren: Get your kids vaccinated within a month or keep them home.

13 Dec 2021

Most young people improve quickly from COVID-19 vaccine-related myocarditis

Most young people under the age of 21 who developed suspected COVID-19 vaccine-related heart muscle inflammation known as myocarditis had mild symptoms that improved quickly, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation.

6 Dec 2021

Omicron and other coronavirus variants: What you need to know

Americans, already weary of a pandemic nearly two years long, were dealt a new blow during the long Thanksgiving weekend: the announcement that a new coronavirus variant had emerged.

30 Nov 2021

SARS-CoV-2 reinfection and the natural immune response

Researchers review available literature on immunity and SARS-CoV-2 infection to elucidate mechanisms behind SARS-CoV-2 immunity and reinfections.

24 Nov 2021

Myocarditis among Moderna COVID-19 vaccine recipients

A new preprint reports on the incidence of myocarditis in a large population of over 150 million who received two doses of the first vaccine to receive emergency use authorization against the virus.

16 Nov 2021

Areas with higher 1968 influenza pandemic mortality have lower COVID-19 deaths

A new study demonstrates the influence of prior infectious outbreaks in a large population on succeeding pandemic outcomes.

31 Oct 2021

Israeli Pfizer COVID vaccine/myocarditis study, 136 cases out of 5 million

A new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, aimed to present clinical, epidemiological, and follow-up findings of myocarditis cases diagnosed in temporal proximity to COVID-19 vaccination and explore the possibility of a causal relationship between the two.

7 Oct 2021