Smallpox

Stopping smallpox in its tracks: A new anti-viral approach

Natural or deliberate exposure to smallpox poses a great health threat, especially since routine smallpox vaccinations have been discontinued and no clinically approved treatment currently exists. In the February 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Ellis Reinherz and colleagues from Harvard Medical School propose a new antiviral therapy ?a low molecular weight inhibitor of signaling...

Secret of smallpox's success may lead to bioterror cure

In disease, as in war, offensive strategies can become weaknesses, if the defenders see the enemy coming and compensate for its weapons. By manipulating what is perhaps the most devastating trick in cellular weaponry of pox viruses like smallpox, Arizona State University virologist and Biodesign Institute researcher Bertram Jacobs believes that he can turn the biochemical machinery of the...

LIAI scientists make major finding on potential smallpox treatment

Research could lead to treatment that would help stop a smallpox outbreak "This is a very important finding because it has the potential to be an e...

Researchers develop new testing methods for potential monkeypox or smallpox outbreak

Researchers at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) at Oregon Health & Science University have developed new diagnostic methods to better detect future monkeypox or smallpox outbreaks. The research also sheds new light on the 2003 monkeypox outbreak in the Midwest -- monkeypox is closely related to smallpox. This new information suggests that the 2003 outbreak was larger than the 72...

Serious adverse reactions to smallpox vaccine appear to be limited

There was a low rate of life-threatening adverse reactions to the smallpox vaccine administered to potential first responders to a bioterrorism incident, possibly attributable to rigorous vaccine safety screening and educational programs, according to a study in the December 7 issue of JAMA. Routine childhood immunization against smallpox in the United States ceased in 1971, according to b...

Mice studies illustrate potential of chimp/human antibodies to protect against smallpox

Results from a new study indicate that hybrid laboratory antibodies derived from chimpanzees and humans may provide a potentially safe and effective way to treat the serious complications that can occur following smallpox vaccination--and possibly may even protect against the deadly disease itself. The study, led by researchers with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID...

Defective immune system response to smallpox vaccine detailed in new study

Scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have identified a defect in the immune response of people with the skin condition atopic dermatitis that puts them at risk of developing serious complications following smallpox vaccination. Led by Donald Y.M. Leung, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Jewish Medica...

Mass vaccination unnecessary in the event of a large bioterrorist US smallpox attack

Mass vaccination would not be necessary in the event of a large-scale smallpox bioterrorist attack in the United States, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that appears online in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. Instead, the current U.S. government policy of post-release surveillance, prompt containment of victims and vaccinat...

Smallpox outbreak: How long would it take for vaccines to protect people? Would it work?

In the event of a smallpox outbreak in the United States, how long would it take for a vaccinSLU scientist leads national studye to start protecting Americans by stimulating an immune response? General routine vaccinations for smallpox were stopped in the United States in...

Genetic factors are linked to fever following smallpox vaccination

Immunization against infectious agents has been one of the greatest successes of modern me...

Innovative smallpox vaccine research study to be conducted at Case Medical Center

The current FDA-approved vaccine, D...