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.

BMA report hopes to raise awareness about the threat of biological weapons

A new report released today (25 October 2004) by the BMA paints a bleak picture of the global community's ability to cope with advances in biological and genetic weapons technology.

25 Oct 2004

New understanding of how poxviruses jump from species to species

A Canadian study conducted at Robarts Research Institute sheds new light on how poxviruses can jump from species to species -- and will lead to further exploration of another potential candidate in the emerging field of “oncolytic viruses” to fight cancer.

25 Oct 2004

New study offers rare glimpse of how the smallpox virus attacks its victims

Results of a new study in monkeys offer scientists a rare glimpse of how, on a molecular level, the smallpox virus attacks its victims. The findings shed light on how the virus caused mass death and suffering, and will help point the way to new diagnostics, vaccines and drugs that would be needed in the event of a smallpox bioterror incident.

12 Oct 2004

Results do not suggest widespread anthrax antibiotic abuse in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks

Prescriptions for antibiotics that could be taken in advance to prevent against anthrax were uncommon among concerned patients after September 11, 2001 and the 2001 U.S. anthrax attacks, according to an article in the October 11 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine.

11 Oct 2004

HHS awards contracts totaling more than $232 million to fund development of new vaccines against smallpox, plague and tularemia

United States Department of Health and Human Services has announced four new contracts totaling more than $232 million to fund development of new vaccines against three potential agents of bioterrorism: smallpox, plague and tularemia. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), will administer the contracts.

8 Oct 2004

Significant progress in development of an animal model of smallpox that closely resembles human disease

Scientists have made significant progress in developing an animal model of smallpox that closely resembles human disease, which will be necessary for testing of future vaccines and potential treatments.

5 Oct 2004

Allow genomic information to be freely available on the internet

This week’s lead editorial in THE LANCET discusses the benefits and potential risks of allowing genomic information to be freely available on the internet

23 Sep 2004

New computer program helps health departments halt outbreaks

Imagine that a terrorist has just released the smallpox virus in Atlanta, and suddenly there’s a race against time to vaccinate and treat every last man, woman and child in metro Atlanta before the deadly virus can spread.

20 Sep 2004

$10.3 million biodefense contract to tackle salmonella, typhoid fever and monkey pox virus

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has received a $10.3 million biodefense contract from the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Agents (NIAID) to identify the proteins that regulate the bacteria that cause salmonella poisoning and typhoid fever, and the monkey pox virus.

12 Sep 2004

50 year old frozen smallpox vaccines are nearly 100 percent effective

Diluted doses of a smallpox vaccine, originally manufactured in the 1950s and stored as a frozen preparation, are nearly 100 percent effective, allowing for expansion of the current stockpile if needed, according to an article in the September 8 issue of JAMA.

8 Sep 2004

Researchers make discoveries on West Nile virus, monkeypox, and yellow fever

Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston present significant new discoveries on West Nile virus, monkeypox, and yellow fever

4 Sep 2004

Compulsory vaccination against terrorist attack is unjustified

The compulsory use of vaccines to prevent the effects of a bioterrorist attack seems to be based on an unproved threat, according to an editorial in this week's BMJ.

4 Sep 2004

Special talk by scientist who was instrumental in the eradication of smallpox

A scientist who was instrumental in the eradication of smallpox, Emeritus Professor Frank Fenner, presented a special talk at the University of Wollongong, Australia on August 11 in this, the 25th year since the eradication of smallpox.

12 Aug 2004

Gravity model applicable to disease spread

Tracking the spread of new or re-emergent diseases such as SARS or smallpox is essential in controlling disease epidemics, but horse-and-buggy concepts of how diseases spread have been supplanted by 21st-century realities.

9 Aug 2004

New book predicts a "vaccine century"

A new book published by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) predicts that the 21st century will become the "century of vaccines" thanks to rapid developments in the field of immunization.

21 Jul 2004

Research team developing new defenses against plague and smallpox

Using a federal biodefense grant, a Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center team will try to develop new approaches to immunizing people against the plague and smallpox, two of the most feared potential agents of bio-terrorism.

15 Jul 2004

Bill Cosby sets the record straight on African American teen pregnancy

Bill Cosby wants to set the record straight concerning the statistics of African American teen pregnancy that he has cited in his call-to-action for better parenting and education.

10 Jul 2004

Emerging infectious diseases will continue to confront society in unpredictable ways as long as humans and microbes co-exist

Emerging infectious diseases, which have shaped the course of humanity and caused incalculable suffering and death, will continue to confront society in unpredictable ways as long as humans and microbes co-exist

9 Jul 2004

Nigeria resuming polio immunization

The World Health Organization (WHO) has been informed by the Governor of Kano, Nigeria, of the intention to resume polio immunization campaigns there in early July.

30 Jun 2004

Discovery could pave the way to smallpox Immunity

A team of scientists led by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) international research scholar has discovered the immune system mechanism that causes some mice to be more susceptible to mousepox than others.

9 Jun 2004