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.

New study shows efficacy of Ebola vaccine in offering protection against disease

An experimental Ebola vaccine was highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial in Guinea, according to a new study that included researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

26 Dec 2016

Experimental Ebola vaccine offers high protection against deadly virus, reveals major trial

An experimental Ebola vaccine was highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial in Guinea, according to results published today in The Lancet. The vaccine is the first to prevent infection from one of the most lethal known pathogens, and the findings add weight to early trial results published last year.

23 Dec 2016

Okayama University researchers find way to prevent replication of influenza viral RNA

Researchers at Okayama University have successfully cleaved influenza viral RNA to prevent its replication using novel artificial RNA restriction enzymes in laboratory cell cultures.

30 Nov 2016

Rabies vaccine stored at warmer temperatures can protect against disease, WSU research shows

A Washington State University-led research team determined rabies vaccines stored at warmer temperatures still protect against the disease in dogs.

24 Oct 2016

Region of the Americas becomes first in world to eradicate measles

The Region of the Americas is the first in the world to have eliminated measles, a viral disease that can cause severe health problems, including pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and even death. This achievement culminates a 22-year effort involving mass vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella throughout the Americas.

30 Sep 2016

Exposure to infections in early life not linked to higher mortality risk during adulthood

A new biological study by the University of Stirling has found that exposure to infections in early life does not have long-lasting consequences for later-life survival and reproduction.

26 Jul 2016

SLU researchers study investigational vaccine for yellow fever

Saint Louis University's Center for Vaccine Development is studying an investigational vaccine for yellow fever, a potentially deadly disease that is spread by the same mosquito that transmits Zika virus.

19 Jul 2016

First-ever vaccine to combat Leishmaniasis under development

As scientists scramble to get a Zika virus vaccine into human trials by the end of the summer, a team of researchers is working on the first-ever vaccine to prevent another insect-borne disease - Leishmaniasis - from gaining a similar foothold in the Americas.

27 Apr 2016

Scientists start clinical trial to test new prostate cancer vaccine

Oxford University scientists have started a clinical trial to test a new vaccine against prostate cancer and are looking for volunteers to take part. The first four participants have already received this experimental vaccine at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, and the second trial site has just been opened at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

1 Mar 2016

Experimental vaccine shows effectiveness in Ebola vaccine trial

An experimental vaccine combined with an innovative way of vaccinating people has resulted in an estimated 100 percent efficacy of the vaccine against the Ebola virus in West Africa -- and the approach could establish a new way of responding to outbreaks of emerging pathogens, including the Zika virus.

16 Feb 2016

PharmAthene to be compensated for loss of profits over SIGA's smallpox antiviral drug

PharmAthene, Inc. announced today that the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Delaware Court of Chancery's decision to award PharmAthene lump sum expectation damages for the value of PharmAthene's lost profits for SIGA's smallpox antiviral, Tecovirimat.

26 Dec 2015

RBHS Chancellor leads study to eliminate chronic viral hepatitis

Chronic viral hepatitis has a reputation for being a silent killer. The infection often goes undetected until the symptoms of advanced liver cancer appear. By that point, a patient has a five-year survival rate, according to the American Cancer Society.

17 Dec 2015

Virologists demonstrate how poxviruses defeat the body's host immune defenses

Smallpox virus, which killed millions of humans through the ages, ranks among the world's most feared bioterrorism agents. Human monkeypox continues to occur sporadically in remote African villages.

11 Dec 2015

Bacteriophage therapy: an alternative to antibiotics? An interview Professor Clokie

A phage is a virus that infects a bacterium. People often get very confused about what the difference is between a virus and a bacterium. A virus, like a bacterium, is also a microorganism, but unlike bacteria, it needs to have a host to be able to replicate and propagate.

2 Dec 2015

WHO officials hope to eradicate polio by 2024

Shortly after the successful global Smallpox Eradication Programme (SEP) in the 80's, world leaders and public health officials announced a plan to eradicate poliomyelitis (polio) off the face of the Earth; the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization (WHO) together championed the cause.

16 Oct 2015

Discovery could open up door for cancer research and treatment

Florida State University researchers have taken a big step forward in the fight against cancer with a discovery that could open up the door for new research and treatment options.

28 Aug 2015

GLOBVAC programme tests new vaccine that may provide complete protection against Ebola virus

The Research Council of Norway's Programme for Global Health and Vaccination Research (GLOBVAC) is co-funding testing of a new vaccine against Ebola that is drawing widespread international attention. The research programme has allocated NOK 20 million towards this work.

11 Aug 2015

First large field trial shows VSV-ZEBOV is effective against Ebola

A vaccine against the Ebola virus, tested in West Africa for the first time in a field trial, has proved to be effective. People who had come into close contact with someone recently infected, and who are therefore at particularly high risk, were vaccinated.

3 Aug 2015

Tests show VSV-ZEBOV vaccine safe and effective against Ebola

Tests of the experimental Ebola vaccine VSV-ZEBOV in over 7500 participants in Guinea suggest that the vaccine provides high protection against the disease as early as ten days after vaccination, in adults who have potentially been exposed to the virus by coming in close contact with a recently infected person.

31 Jul 2015

Guinea Phase III trial shows VSV-EBOV vaccine highly effective against Ebola

Results from an interim analysis of the Guinea Phase III efficacy vaccine trial show that VSV-EBOV (Merck, Sharp & Dohme) is highly effective against Ebola.