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.

Monkey-infecting virus shows promise as potential component of future HIV vaccine

A protein from Simian Immunodeficiency Virus, which can infect monkeys and apes, has shown promise as a potential component of a vaccine against Human Immunodeficiency Virus, in a new study from scientists at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California.

22 May 2019

UGA researchers create statistical method to better predict disease reemergence

Several University of Georgia researchers teamed up to create a statistical method that may allow public health and infectious disease forecasters to better predict disease reemergence, especially for preventable childhood infections such as measles and pertussis.

22 May 2019

New study provides overview of potential risks of vaccinating breastfeeding women

In light of the continuing anti-vaccination movement, a provocative new article provides a comprehensive overview of the potential risks of vaccinating breastfeeding women.

11 Apr 2019

Lab instruments may leak valuable information, finds study

Lab instruments are important tools throughout research and health care. But what if those instruments are leaking valuable information?

25 Feb 2019

Study shows an unusual mechanism could have thwart the invasion of human genome by junk DNA

In the January 7th edition of Communications Biology, researchers at InsideOutBio argue that an unusual form of DNA with a reverse twist may have helped thwart the invasion of the human genome by junk DNA.

11 Jan 2019

Researchers attempt to create world's first genetically edited babies

The researchers have used CRISPR to edit the genes of IVF embryos in a controversial attempt to create offspring that are resistant to disease.

26 Nov 2018

New resource outlines neurologic effects and treatment options for biologic, chemical attacks

The neurologic effects and treatment options for exposure to biologic and chemical agents are outlined in a newly published article by neurologists from the University of Colorado School of Medicine who collaborated on the article with military physicians.

26 Oct 2018

NIAID releases strategic plan to expand knowledge of TB by using modern tools

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious cause of death worldwide, killing roughly 1.6 million people in 2017. In the past 200 years, TB claimed the lives of more than one billion people--more deaths than from malaria, influenza, smallpox, HIV/AIDS, cholera and plague combined.

27 Sep 2018

Third case of monkey pox confirmed in UK

Officials from Public Health England (PHE) have confirmed yesterday (26th September 2018) that a third person in UK has been diagnosed with monkey pox. While the first two patients had most likely picked up the infection from Nigeria, this third infection has occurred in a healthcare worker who was treating one of the first two infected patients at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

26 Sep 2018

Second case of Monkeypox infection identified in UK

United Kingdom has recorded the second cases of Monekypox within days of the first case. This second case was a patient who tested positive for the virus at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

12 Sep 2018

Spanish Flu viruses induce changes in master cellular regulator, shows research

The 1918 "Spanish Flu" was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, killing 50-100 million people.

22 Aug 2018

New model for eradicating peste des petits ruminants

Eradicating peste des petits ruminants is an ambitious objective that is neveretheless looking increasingly realistic, notably thanks to a targeted vaccination strategy centring on production systems that act as a virus reservoir.

31 Jul 2018

FDA seeks order of permanent injunction to stop two stem cell clinics from marketing stem cell products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in two complaints filed today in federal court, is seeking permanent injunctions to stop two stem cell clinics from marketing stem cell products without FDA approval and for significant deviations from current good manufacturing practice requirements.

10 May 2018

Researchers get one step closer to creating peptide vaccine against atherosclerosis

In the disease atherosclerosis, cholesterol-containing plaques form in vessel walls, causing arteries to narrow and greatly increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

12 Apr 2018

Phase I clinical trial of HIV vaccines to begin in the U.S.

A Phase I clinical trial testing the safety of vaccines that might have the potential to prevent HIV infection will begin this month at four sites in the United States, marking the latest step in a three-decade quest at UMass Medical School to harness the power of DNA vaccines in addressing a major global health threat.

28 Mar 2018

Targeted vaccination can be successful in containing epidemic outbreaks

Amidst growing concerns over the low uptake of flu shots in Europe, scientists from the Italian National Research Council and the Joint Research Centre, the European Commission's sciuence and knowledge service, confirm that vaccinations remain the best way forward when it comes to stopping the spread of infectious diseases.

23 Feb 2018

Oncolytic virus alerts the immune system to attack tumors

A new UC San Francisco study has shown that a cancer-killing virus currently in clinical trials may function as a cancer vaccine - in addition to killing some cancer cells directly, the virus alerts the immune system to the presence of a tumor, triggering a powerful, widespread immune response that kills cancer cells far outside the virus-infected region.

14 Feb 2018

Research shows new method for rapidly producing antimalarial drug at industrial scale

Compared to smallpox or typhoid, malaria is proving one of the most challenging human diseases to eradicate - and so remains a real and constant danger to nearly half the world's population.

7 Sep 2017

Molecular map shows novel way to stop dangerous bioweapon

During World War II, the Soviet Red Army was forced to move their biological warfare operations out of the path of advancing Nazi troops. Among the dangerous cargo were vials of Francisella tularensis, the organism that causes tularemia and one of the world's most infectious pathogens.

6 Sep 2017

Radboudumc, iMM Lisboa, PATH team up to test new malaria vaccine concept

The Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, the Instituto de Medicina Molecular Lisboa in Portugal, and PATH in Seattle, Washington announced today that they will collaborate to test a new approach to malaria vaccine development in humans for the first time.

31 May 2017