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...Smallpox as Biological Weapons?
As biological weapons go, anthrax is nowhere as terrifying as several others, says Jim Matthews, an associate professor of pharmacy at Northeastern University. Smallpox would be a lot worse. The government now has about 15 million doses of smallpox vaccine on hand. Experiments are getting underway to see whether it can be diluted so it could be administered to more people, and still be effective....Smallpox Vaccine May Help Fight Cervical Cancer
A modified version of the smallpox vaccine is being tested against cervical cancer. Human papilloma virus (HPV) is associated with 95% of cervical cancer cases, but not everyone with the virus develops the cancer. Cervical cancer affects about 465,000 women worldwide each year and causes 300,000 deaths. If it is diagnosed and treated in its earliest stages there is a high survival rate. // <b...Problematic Use of smallpox vaccine
The USA is accumulating an abundant supply of smallpox vaccine, but health officials say they are not recommending that it be widely used- yet. The vaccine currently on hand, 16.8 million doses in a government stockpile// and more than 80 million doses that drug maker Aventis Pasteur says it will add to that, is safe and effective but can cause problems. Many people develop painful swelling aroun...