MedWorm: Smallpox Vaccine

Quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine: a review of safety, efficacy, and pharmacoeconomics

Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

What is known and background: The introduction of vaccines has lead to a significant reduction in morbidity and mortality from diseases such as measles, rubella and poliomyelitis, as well as the eradication of smallpox (Ertl HC, Xiang Z (1996) The Journal of Immunology, 156, 3579[ndash]3582). A recent vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the recombinant quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (Merck, Gardasil®). Concerns raised with this preventive measure include safety and efficacy issues as well as the financial implications. Furthermore, the use of the vaccine in women outside the currently approved age ranges and in adolescent boys and men has also been a source of debate.Objective: A review of two licensed HPV vaccines (Gardasil, Merck and Cervarix, ...

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Kinetics of Serum Cytokines after Primary or Repeat Vaccination with the Smallpox Vaccine

The Journal of Infectious Diseases Latest Issue — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:36:44 +0100

Conclusions. The increased frequency and duration of symptoms observed in primary vaccine recipients, compared with revaccinated subjects, paralleled the increases in serum cytokine levels in these individuals. Trial registration. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT00325975. (Source: The Journal of Infectious Diseases Latest Issue)

Ferenc Gyorgyey Research Travel Grant

ScanGrants feed — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

The Historical Library of the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University is pleased to announced its third annual Research Travel Award for use of the Historical Library. The award honors Ferenc A. Gyorgyey, Historical Librarian emeritus.The Historical Library holds one of the country’s largest collections of rare medical books, journals, prints, photographs, and pamphlets. It was founded in 1941 by the donations of the extensive collections of Harvey Cushing, John F. Fulton, and Arnold C. Klebs. Special strengths are the works of Hippocrates, Galen, Vesalius, Boyle, Harvey, Culpeper, Haller, Priestley, and S. Weir Mitchell, and works on anesthesia, and smallpox inoculation and vaccination. The Library owns over fifty medieval and renaissance manuscripts, Arab...

Contingency planning for a deliberate release of smallpox in Great Britain - the role of geographical scale and contact structure

BMC Infectious Diseases — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Our method allows for intuitive understanding of the reasons why national mass vaccination is typically predicted to be suboptimal. As such, we present a general framework for fast calculation of expected outcomes during the attempted control of diverse emerging infections; this is particularly important given that parameters would need to be interactively estimated and modelled in any release scenario. (Source: BMC Infectious Diseases)

SLU to study smallpox vaccine in fight against bioterrorism

bizjournals.com Health Care:Biotechnology headlines — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:08:16 +0100

Saint Louis University scientists plan to study the most effective way to administer an investigational vaccine for smallpox as part of efforts to protect Americans from a bioterrorism attack. (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Biotechnology headlines)

Application of the ibis-t5000 pan-orthopoxvirus assay to quantitatively detect monkeypox viral loads in clinical specimens from macaques experimentally infected with aerosolized monkeypox virus.

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Grant RJ, Baldwin CD, Nalca A, Zoll S, Blyn LB, Eshoo MW, Matthews H, Sampath R, Whitehouse CA Monkeypox virus (MPXV), a member of the family Poxviridae and genus Orthopoxvirus, causes a smallpox-like disease in humans. A previously described pan-Orthopoxvirus assay, based on a broad-range polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (PCR/ESI-MS), was evaluated for its ability to detect MPXV from spiked human and aerosol-infected cynomolgous macaque (Macaca fascicularis) samples. Detection of MPXV DNA from macaque tissue, blood, and spiked human blood by the PCR/ESI-MS pan-Orthopoxvirus assay was comparable, albeit at slightly higher levels, to the current gold standard method of real-time PCR with the pan-Orthopoxvirus assay and had a...

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This Day in Science History - January 26 - Jenner and Cowpox Vaccine

About.com Chemistry — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

January 26th marks the passing of Edward Jenner. Jenner was the English physician who noticed milk maids who had been infected with cowpox seemed to never contract the more serious disease, smallpox. Smallpox kills a third of the people who contract the disease, but if a person survives smallpox, they never catch it again. Variolation was the predominant smallpox treatment of the time. Variolation is when healthy people are exposed to a disease in hopes of giving them a milder (survivable) case of the disease. Between 2 and 3% of people exposed to variolation died. Dr. Jenner tried a different route. He collected the pus from a cowpox sore on a milk maid and injected it into a young boy. He developed cowpox but quickly got over it. A couple weeks later Jenner exposed the boy to smallpox. H...

Epidermal injury and infection during poxvirus immunization is crucial for the generation of highly protective T cell–mediated immunity

Nature Medicine — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Epidermal injury and infection during poxvirus immunization is crucial for the generation of highly protective T cell–mediated immunity Nature Medicine 16, 224 (2010). doi:10.1038/nm.2078 Authors: Luzheng Liu, Qiong Zhong, Tian Tian, Krista Dubin, Shruti K Athale & Thomas S Kupper Variola major (smallpox) infection claimed hundreds of millions lives before it was eradicated by a simple vaccination strategy: epicutaneous application of the related orthopoxvirus vaccinia virus (VACV) to superficially injured skin (skin scarification, s.s.). However, the remarkable success of this strategy was attributed to the immunogenicity of VACV rather than to the unique mode of vaccine delivery. We now show that VACV immunization via s.s., but not conventional injection routes, is essential ...

'The real threat is mad scientist syndrome'

Guardian Unlimited Science — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:30:01 +0100

Remember the warnings of 65,000 dead? Health chiefs should admit they were wrong – yet again – about a global pandemicLet me recap. Six months ago I reviewed the latest bit of terrorism to emerge from the government's Cobra bunker, courtesy of Alan Johnson, home secretary. Swine flu was allegedly ravaging the nation. The BBC was intoning nightly statistics on what "could" happen as "the deadly virus" took hold. The chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, bandied about any figure that came into his head, settling on "65,000 could die", peaking at 350 corpses a day.Donaldson knew exactly what would happen. The media went berserk. The World Health Organisation declared a "six-level alert" so as to "prepare the world for an imminent attack". The happy-go-lucky virologist, John Oxford, s...

'Real threat is mad scientist syndrome'

Guardian Unlimited Science — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:30:01 +0100

Swine flu was as elusive as WMD. The real threat is mad scientist syndrome | Simon Jenkins

Guardian Unlimited Science — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:30:01 +0100

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Laboratory worker knowledge, attitudes and practices towards smallpox vaccine

Occupational Medicine — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:10:16 +0100

Conclusions The results of this study suggest that the main barrier to vaccination may be fear associated with possible vaccine adverse effects and a willingness to risk accidental infection rather than be vaccinated. More information and training about the potential benefits of vaccination, as well as the potential adverse outcomes associated with accidental infection, is therefore warranted. (Source: Occupational Medicine)

Lecture: Prevention is better than cure

NeLM - Immunology and vaccination — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Source: Lancet Area: News This lecture was delivered at the Royal College of Physicians (London) in October 2009. It discusses vaccination, including its history (Jenner's discovery; smallpox), and a focus on tuberculosis, implementation of health-care trials in resource-poor countries, cervical cancer vaccines, and non-communicable diseases. (Source: NeLM - Immunology and vaccination)

A brief history of smallpox eradication in iran.

Archives of Iranian Medicine — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Azizi MH Smallpox, which currently is only of historical interest, was once one of the most terrible illnesses with high mortality and morbidity. In the late 18th century, the English physician and naturalist, Edward Jenner (1749 - 1823), discovered an efficient preventive technique against smallpox which he termed "vaccination". Afterwards, the practice of vaccination gradually became widespread when finally in 1979, the World Health Organization formally declared the global eradication of this fatal disease.Presented here is a brief account of smallpox eradication in Iran which started on a limited scale in the 19th century by the order of Abbas Mirza (1789 - 1833), the Crown Prince of Fath Ali Shah Qajar (reign from 1797 - 1834), and reinforced in 1848 by Mirza Taghi Khan A...

One time intranasal vaccination with a modified vaccinia Tiantan strain MVTT(ZCI) protects animals against pathogenic viral challenge.

Vaccine — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100

This study established proof-of-concept that the attenuated replicating MVTT(ZCI) may serve as a safe noninvasive smallpox vaccine candidate. PMID: 20045097 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Vaccine)

Mystery solved: Scientists now know how smallpox kills

ScienceDaily Headlines — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:00:00 +0100

Researchers have solved a fundamental mystery about smallpox that has puzzled scientists long after the natural disease was eradicated by vaccination: they know how it kills us. Scientists can now describe how the virus cripples immune systems by attacking molecules made by our bodies to block viral replication. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)

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Scientists Now Know How Smallpox Kills

Health News from Medical News Today — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:00:00 +0100

A team of researchers working in a high containment laboratory at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA, have solved a fundamental mystery about smallpox that has puzzled scientists long after the natural disease was eradicated by vaccination.: they know how it kills us. In a new research report appearing online in The FASEB Journal, researchers describe how the virus cripples immune systems by attacking molecules made by our bodies to block viral replication... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Scientists Now Know How Smallpox Kills

Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Scientists Now Know How Smallpox Kills

Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Mystery solved: Scientists now know how smallpox kills

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0100

(Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) Researchers have solved a fundamental mystery about smallpox that has puzzled scientists long after the natural disease was eradicated by vaccination: they know how it kills us. In a new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal, scientists describe how the virus cripples immune systems by attacking molecules made by our bodies to block viral replication. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)

Institute To Identify New Vaccine Targets For Tuberculosis, Malaria, Dengue Virus And Smallpox

Tropical Diseases News From Medical News Today — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:00:00 +0100

Researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology will take aim at several of the world's most dangerous infectious diseases - tuberculosis, malaria and dengue virus -- in a five-year, $18.8 million federally-funded set of projects seeking to make new inroads toward vaccines against the disorders. The Institute received four project awards totaling $18... (Source: Tropical Diseases News From Medical News Today)

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Institute To Identify New Vaccine Targets For Tuberculosis, Malaria, Dengue Virus And Smallpox

Health News from Medical News Today — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:00:00 +0100

Researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology will take aim at several of the world's most dangerous infectious diseases - tuberculosis, malaria and dengue virus -- in a five-year, $18.8 million federally-funded set of projects seeking to make new inroads toward vaccines against the disorders. The Institute received four project awards totaling $18.8 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to fund the study... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Institute To Identify New Vaccine Targets For Tuberculosis, Malaria, Dengue Virus And Smallpox

Tropical Diseases News From Medical News Today — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:00:00 +0100

WHO criteria for measles elimination: a critique with reference to criteria for polio elimination

Eurosurveillance latest news — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Smallpox was formally declared as eradicated in 1979. Smallpox is the only infectious disease of humans that has ever been eradicated. Poliomyelitis has been eliminated from three of the six World Health Organization (WHO) regions although not all countries within those regions always meet the elimination criteria. Elimination criteria for measles are being discussed. We use poliomyelitis and measles as examples to illustrate our assertion that the current approach to documenting measles elimination relies too heavily on criteria for surveillance quality, disadvantaging countries with long established and relatively inflexible surveillance systems. We propose an alternative approach to documenting measles elimination, with the two key criteria being molecular evidence to confirm the lack o...

Disease eradication: Yesterday's ambition

Guardian Unlimited Science — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:06:18 +0100

If ever there was a single moment of lost innocence in global medicine, it came with the triumph of disease over the best efforts of rich nations to transfer their knowledge and expertise to the rest of the world. Yet – as veterans of the campaign to eradicate smallpox will remember at commemorative events next spring – 30 years ago they believed that soon other major infectious diseases would be similarly defeated. Instead they persist to devastating effect, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria remains the biggest killer of children under five and where polio, although much reduced, is back on the march even in countries like southern Sudan where it once was under control, while TB kills more than HIV/Aids. And the bigger the challenge, the hotter the politics.What is oft...

Needlestick injury with smallpox vaccine.

Med J Aust — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Senanayake SN PMID: 20028297 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Med J Aust)

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Swine flu vaccine is vital | Robert Read

Guardian Unlimited Science — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0100

The anti-immunisation movement has been peddling fear since the 1800s, but we must ignore its misinformation on H1N1Many people are facing the question of whether to vaccinate themselves and their children against pandemic influenza H1N1 (so-called swine flu) – a vaccine that will provide safe and effective protection against a debilitating and potentially fatal illness. But the question comes at a time when some experts are concerned that a vociferous anti-vaccine lobby will undermine the mass vaccination campaigns being rolled out across Europe, putting the public and individuals' health at risk.Vaccination – priming the body's immune system to resist attack – is the best defence an individual can have against infectious diseases. It can provide effective protection from infection,...

India's final push to wipe out polio

Guardian Unlimited Science — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:05:33 +0100

Polio has almost been wiped out, but a few stubborn areas of resistance remain and India is on the frontline against the crippling diseaseIn a school courtyard in Lucknow on a dusty Sunday afternoon, the final push in a heroic campaign to drive a crippling disease from the planet is under way. Among scores of wide-eyed children, four-year-old Mohamed Yusuf is brought to the big wooden table under the yellow banners by his mother Afsar Jahan. Uncomprehending but compliant, he tilts his head back and opens his mouth to receive two drops of polio vaccine. His less fortunate sister Saba Banu, 12, comes across the open space to join them, strikingly beautiful in her bright blue sari, swinging her deformed limb this way and that on her crutches. Saba's right leg is stunted from polio, which she ...

Elsevier Journal Vaccine Features Milestone Biodefense Publication

Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0100

Last week during the 'Vaccines for Biothreats and Emerging and Neglected Diseases Symposium' in Galveston TX, USA, the Elsevier journal Vaccine released a supplement dedicated to vaccines for biodefense. This publication provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview on vaccines that have been developed against a diverse group of human and veterinary pathogens, including Bacillus anthracis, smallpox, and blue tongue. (Source: Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today)

Milestone biodefense publication by Elsevier journal Vaccine

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

(Elsevier) Last week during the Vaccines for Biothreats and Emerging and Neglected Diseases Symposium in Galveston Texas, the Elsevier journal Vaccine released a supplement dedicated to vaccines for biodefense. This publication provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview on vaccines that have been developed against a diverse group of human and veterinary pathogens, including Bacillus anthracis, smallpox and blue tongue. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)

Facebook crowdsourced investigation exposes vaccine denials of SIGA Technologies

NaturalNews.com — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:00:00 +0100

(NaturalNews) When you publish a hard-hitting story containing links to lots of little-known documents, you never know what kind of bizarre blow-back you'll receive. The latest episode of reactive strangeness occurred following our publication of the story about SIGA Technologies and the conflicts of interest found in Dr. Mehmet Oz's holding of 150,000 option shares in that company (http://www.naturalnews.com/027451_Dr_Mehmet_Oz_vaccines.html) even while pushing vaccines on TV. Shortly after publishing this article, NaturalNews was contacted by a public relations firm called KCSA Strategic Communications, which represents SIGA as an "investor relations counsel." (http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS190221+17-Mar-2008+BW20080317)The Vice-President of this P.R. company rather for...

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Laboratory-Acquired Vaccinia Virus Infection -- Virginia, 2008

Medscape Allergy Headlines — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:00:00 +0100

This case report supports current US recommendations for smallpox vaccination at least every 10 years for laboratory workers at high risk of vaccinia virus infection. Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (Source: Medscape Allergy Headlines)

H1N1 vaccines too little, too late; most people already exposed and immune (opinion)

NaturalNews.com — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:00:00 +0100

(NaturalNews) The Big Pharma frenzy over H1N1 vaccines has turned into a circus of hilarious medical quackery thanks to the fact that by the time the vaccines are available, most people will have already been exposed to the virus. Hence, most people will have already built up their own H1N1 antibodies, rendering the vaccine not just useless, but downright laughable.Even with the outlandish rush to get these vaccines approved by the FDA -- a hurry that saw the complete abandonment of the principles of "scientific testing" -- Big Pharma just couldn't get these vaccines produced quickly enough to beat the virus itself. Taking a vaccine shot after you've already been exposed is medically useless. It's equivalent to putting on your seat belt after getting into a car wreck.Even U.S. News and Wor...

A mouse-based assay for the pre-clinical neurovirulence assessment of vaccinia virus-based smallpox vaccines.

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Zhang CX, Sauder C, Malik T, Rubin SA Post-vaccinal encephalitis, although relatively uncommon, is a known adverse event associated with many live, attenuated smallpox vaccines. Although smallpox vaccination ceased globally in 1980, vaccine manufacture has resumed in response to concerns over the possible use of smallpox virus as an agent of bioterrorism. To better support the production of safer smallpox vaccines, we previously reported the development of a mouse model in which a relatively attenuated vaccine strain (Dryvax((R))) could be discerned from a more virulent laboratory strain (WR). Here we have further tested the performance of this assay by evaluating the neurovirulence of several vaccinia virus-based smallpox vaccines spanning a known range in neurovirulence for ...

Capturing of cell culture-derived modified Vaccinia Ankara virus by ion exchange and pseudo-affinity membrane adsorbers

Biotechnology and Bioengineering — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

This study compares different ion exchange and pseudo-affinity membrane adsorbers (MA) to capture chicken embryo fibroblast cell-derived MVA-BN® after cell homogenization and clarification. In parallel, the overall performance of classical bead-based resin chromatography (Cellufine® sulfate and Toyopearl® AF-Heparin) was investigated. The two tested pseudo-affinity MA (i.e., sulfated cellulose and heparin) were superior over the applied ion exchange MA in terms of virus yield and contaminant depletion. Furthermore, studies confirmed an expected increase in productivity resulting from the increased volume throughput of MA compared to classical bead-based column chromatography methods. Overall virus recovery was [sim]60% for both pseudo-affinity MA and the Cellufine® sulfate resin. Deple...

Vaccines as a trigger for myopathies.

Lupus — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Orbach H, Tanay A Vaccines are considered to be among the greatest medical discoveries, credited with the virtual eradication of some diseases and the consequent improved survival and quality of life of the at-risk population. With that, vaccines are among the environmental factors implicated as triggers for the development of inflammatory myopathies. The sporadic reports on vaccine-induced inflammatory myopathies include cases of hepatitis B virus, bacillus Calmette-Guérin, tetanus, influenza, smallpox, polio, diphtheria, diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus, combination of diphtheria with scarlet fever and diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus with polio vaccines. However, a significant increase in the incidence of dermatomyositis or polymyositis after any massive vaccination campaign h...

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Smallpox vaccines for biodefense.

Vaccine — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:36:55 +0100

Authors: Kennedy RB, Ovsyannikova I, Poland GA Few diseases can match the enormous impact that smallpox has had on mankind. Its influence can be seen in the earliest recorded histories of ancient civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia. With fatality rates up to 30%, smallpox left its survivors with extensive scarring and other serious sequelae. It is estimated that smallpox killed 500 million people in the 19th and 20th centuries. Given the ongoing concerns regarding the use of variola as a biological weapon, this review will focus on the licensed vaccines as well as current research into next-generation vaccines to protect against smallpox and other poxviruses. PMID: 19837292 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Vaccine)

CDC: Vaccines a public health success

Health News - UPI.com — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:42:34 +0100

ATLANTA, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Vaccines are one of the greatest success stories in public health, having eliminated smallpox and nearly rid the world of polio, U.S. health officials said. (Source: Health News - UPI.com)

Outfoxing Pox: Developing A New Class Of Vaccine Candidates

ScienceDaily Headlines — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Scientists have taken a fresh look at cowpox. Their findings demonstrate that this ancient pathogen still has much to teach us, and may hasten development of novel vaccines against smallpox and other pox-like diseases. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)

Outfoxing Pox: Developing A New Class Of Vaccine Candidates

Health News from Medical News Today — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0100

In the annals of medicine, Edward Jenner's 1796 vaccination of a young boy against smallpox, using fluid from cowpox blisters, remains a landmark case. In a new study, Kathryn Sykes, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and her colleagues have taken a fresh look at cowpox. (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Flu vaccines revealed as the greatest quackery ever pushed in the history of medicine

NaturalNews.com — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0100

(NaturalNews) Prepare to have your world rocked. What you're about to read here will leave you astonished, inspired and outraged all at the same time. You're about to be treated to some little-known information demonstrating why seasonal flu vaccines are utterly worthless and why their continued promotion is based entirely on fabricated studies and medical mythology.If the whole world knew what you're about to read here, the vaccine industry would collapse overnight.This information comes to you courtesy of a brilliant article published in The Atlantic (November 2009). The article, written by Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer, isn't just brilliant; in my opinion it stands as the best article on flu vaccines that has ever been published in the popular press. Entitled Does the vaccine matte...

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Outfoxing pox: Developing a new class of vaccine candidates

EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:00:00 +0100

(Arizona State University) In a new study, Kathryn Sykes, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and her colleagues have taken a fresh look at cowpox. Their findings, appearing in the advanced online issue of Virology, demonstrate that this ancient pathogen still has much to teach us, and may hasten development of novel vaccines against smallpox and other pox-like diseases. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)

Smallpox vaccine: Myopericarditis: case report

Reactions — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:02:30 +0100

(Source: Reactions)

Historical Data Shows Vaccines are Not what Saved Us

NaturalNews.com — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0100

(NaturalNews) With all of the hype surrounding the H1N1 swine flu virus lately, everyone is very concerned with the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, and rightly so. This is a very important question that we must all ask ourselves and find out what the truth is. As the debate rages on an even more important question has rarely been asked. Do vaccines even protect you from the viruses and illnesses that they claim to?If you only get your news and information from mainstream news and educational sources, then the question about whether vaccines are effective is never even raised. This lack of discussion give the perception that they are so effective that only a crazy or ignorant person would even think otherwise. Of course that is the perception that they are trying to get across to you,...

New classes of orthopoxvirus vaccine candidates by functionally screening a synthetic library for protective antigens.

Virology — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100

Authors: Borovkov A, Magee DM, Loskutov A, Cano JA, Selinsky C, Zsemlye J, Lyons CR, Sykes K The licensed smallpox vaccine, comprised of infectious vaccinia, is no longer popular as it is associated with a variety of adverse events. Safer vaccines have been explored such as further attenuated viruses and component designs. However, these alternatives typically provide compromised breadth and strength of protection. We conducted a genome-level screening of cowpox, the ancestral poxvirus, in the broadly immune-presenting C57BL/6 mouse as an approach to discovering novel components with protective capacities. Cowpox coding sequences were synthetically built and directly assayed by genetic immunization for open-reading frames that protect against lethal pulmonary infection. Membrane and no...

When Does the Rash of Roseola Occur?

PediatricEducation.org — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:01:38 +0100

Discussion Rashes, particularly ones caused by viruses, are common presenting problems. In his first edition of Pediatrics, Dr. Rotch spent 72 pages describing infectious exanthemata. The cause of the exanthemata was unknown at the time, and thankfully many of those that he wrote of have been eradicated (smallpox), have effective vaccines to prevent (measles, rubella, varicella) or effective antibiotics for treatment (streptococcus). Dr. Rotch ends his extensive treatise with a table describing “the chief points of differential diagnosis in the exanthemata.” This is what was state-of-the-art in 1896 with his spellings: Variola (Smallpox) Incubation: 12 days Prodromata: 3 days Efflorescence: macules, papules, vesicles, pustules Desquamation: large crusts Complication and seque...

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If AIDS Went the Way of Smallpox

NYT > Health — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:42:50 +0100

Despite a promising and expensive study, a vaccine is not around the corner, and no expert will say it is. (Source: NYT > Health)

Boosting Vaccines: The Power of Adjuvants (preview)

Scientific American - Official RSS Feed — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:00:00 +0100

The thought of birth defects caused by rubella, rows of iron lungs housing children crippled by polio, or the horrific sound of a baby struggling with whooping cough can still evoke dread among people who have seen firsthand the damage inflicted by these and other vaccine-preventable diseases. Fortunately, those scourges are virtually unknown to modern generations that have had access to vaccines all their lives.For more than 200 years vaccines have proved to be one of the most successful, lifesaving and economical methods of preventing infectious disease, second only to the sanitization of water. Vaccines have spared millions of people from early death or crippling illnesses and made the global eradication of smallpox in 1979 possible. Health experts now pledge to eliminate polio, measles...

Immunization

Medicine — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:37:51 +0100

Abstract: Immunization against infectious agents to induce a specific, protective immune response can be achieved actively or passively.Passive immunization is the administration of preformed protective antibodies; this immunity is short lived. Active immunization involves the administration of antigens to induce humoral and/or cell-mediated immune responses to a specific micro-organism; this provides more enduring immunity. The first description of active immunization is attributed to Edward Jenner, who, in 1796, induced protective immunity to smallpox by inoculating cowpox (vaccinia) vesicle fluid into the skin of susceptible individuals, though inoculation against smallpox was a Middle Eastern technique that had already been publicized in Western Europe by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (168...

ST-246(R) inhibits in vivo poxvirus dissemination, virus shedding, and systemic disease manifestation.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100

Authors: Berhanu A, King DS, Mosier S, Jordan R, Jones KF, Hruby DE, Grosenbach DW Orthopoxvirus infections, such as smallpox, can lead to severe systemic disease and result in considerable morbidity and mortality in immunologically naïve individuals. Treatment with ST-246(R), a small molecule inhibitor of virus egress, has been shown to provide protection against severe disease and death induced by several members of the poxvirus family, including vaccinia, variola, and monkeypox viruses. Here we show that ST-246 treatment not only results in the significant inhibition of vaccinia virus dissemination from the site of inoculation to distal organs, such as the spleen and liver, but it also reduces viral load in organs targeted by the dissemination. In mice intranasally infected wit...

NFkappaB inhibitors: Strategies from poxviruses.

Cell Cycle — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:16:28 +0100

Authors: Mohamed MR, McFadden G The orchestration of the inflammatory responses to both infection and tissue damage is arguably the key physiological function of NFkappaB, and thus interference with the activation of NFkappaB represents an exceptional strategy for a successful pathogen to exploit to counter multiple host innate defense processes through the targeting of a single host regulatory pathway. Because of their large genomes, which typically encode approximately 200 proteins, and their unusual independence from the host nuclear transcriptional machinery, poxviruses are especially well suited to manipulate the cytoplasmic activation of NFkappaB. Indeed, poxviruses are known to encode multiple proteins that regulate the activation of NFkappaB in a variety of different ways and t...

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Risk of lymphoma and leukaemia after bacille Calmette-Guérin and smallpox vaccination: A Danish case-cohort study.

Vaccine — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100

The objective was to examine the effects of BCG and smallpox vaccinations on subsequent risk of lymphoma and leukaemia in a Danish population experiencing rapid out-phasing of these vaccines. In a background cohort (N=47,622) from the Copenhagen School Health Records Register, cases of leukaemia (N=20) and lymphoma (N=51) were identified through the Danish Cancer Registry. The vaccination status of the cases was compared with the vaccination status of a 5% random sample (N=2073) of the background cohort and analysed in a case-cohort design. BCG vaccination reduced the risk of lymphomas (HR=0.49 (95% CI: 0.26-0.93)), whereas smallpox vaccination did not (HR=1.32 (0.56-3.08)). With the small number of leukaemia cases, the analysis of leukaemia had limited power (BCG vaccination HR=0.81 (0.31...

SIGA Technologies Receives a $3 Million Research Grant From the National Institutes of Health

Medical News (via PRIMEZONE) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:00:00 +0100

NEW YORK, Sept. 2, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SIGA Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:SIGA), a company specializing in the development of pharmaceutical agents to fight bio-warfare pathogens, today announced that it has received a Phase II grant of approximately $3 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to continue exploring the use of ST-246(r) as an adjunct to the current smallpox vaccine for prevention of smallpox vaccine-related adverse events. (Source: Medical News (via PRIMEZONE))

Vaccinia virus inoculation in sites of allergic skin inflammation elicits a vigorous cutaneous IL-17 response [Immunology]

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:00:00 +0100

Eczema vaccinatum (EV) is a complication of smallpox vaccination occurring in patients with atopic dermatitis. In affected individuals, vaccinia virus... (Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

Historical facts about the dangers (and failures) of vaccines

NaturalNews.com — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 07:00:00 +0100

(NaturalNews) Vaccines are the quackery of modern medicine. Mass vaccination programs not only fail to protect the population from infectious disease, they actually accelerate the spread of disease in many cases.Many website have cropped up over the last few years to counter the pro-vaccine propaganda put out by drug companies (who profit from vaccines) and health regulators (who serve the drug companies). One of those sites is www.VaccinationDebate.com , which lists the following historical facts about vaccines:• In the USA in 1960, two virologists discovered that both polio vaccines were contaminated with the SV 40 virus which causes cancer in animals as well as changes in human cell tissue cultures. Millions of children had been injected with these vaccines. (Med Jnl of Australia 1...

Bioterrorism and Infectious Agents

Springer Medicine titles — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:54:32 +0100

A New Dilemma for the 21st Century series: Emerging Infectious Diseases of the 21st Century This volume in the series Emerging Infectious Diseases of the 21st Century provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive information available on bioterrorism agents such as:Anthrax, smallpox, plague, and SARS Vaccine development New anti-viral drug development Treatment and protection Threat analysis and response Biological and chemical agents Compiled by two of the leading ... (Source: Springer Medicine titles)

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Governments, off-patent vaccines, smallpox and universal childhood vaccination.

Vaccine — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:00:00 +0100

Authors: Music S WHO is now celebrating 30 years of freedom from smallpox. What was originally seen as a victory over an ancient scourge can now be viewed as an epidemiologically driven programme to overcome governmental inertia and under-achievement in delivering an off-patent vaccine. Though efforts are accelerating global vaccine use, a plea is made to push the world's governments to commit to universal childhood vaccination via a proposed new programme. The latter should begin by exploiting a long list of ever more affordable off-patent vaccines, vaccines that can virtually eliminate the bulk of the world's current vaccine-preventable disease burden. PMID: 19699330 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Vaccine)

Smallpox

MayoClinic.com Full Feed — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:00:00 +0100

— Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, causes, vaccine prevention of this devastating disease. Sponsored by:Chemotherapy.com - http://www.chemotherapy.com (Source: MayoClinic.com Full Feed)

Pupils could be immunised against swine flu in schools

The Telegraph : Swine Flu A H1N1 — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:11:53 +0100

Every pupil in Britain could be immunised against swine flu in school under plans being considered by the Government. (Source: The Telegraph : Swine Flu A H1N1)

Rush to get national swine flu jabs ready

Guardian Unlimited Science — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:33:35 +0100

• At least 15 million people in priority categories• Planning for bird flu in 2003 serves as blueprintGovernment officials are working urgently to put arrangements in place that could see all 60 million citizens rolling up a sleeve to receive the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes generally available – the first campaign on such a scale since 1964, when every Briton was vaccinated against smallpox.Although the media focus on the pandemic has diminished as the first wave of infection has begun to recede, officials at the Department of Health (DH) have been planning to try to ensure both that the inoculation campaign goes smoothly and that the NHS can cope if the second wave of infection expected in the autumn proves more serious than the first."This is an enormous operation. It's a huge log...

Laboratory-acquired vaccinia virus infection--Virginia, 2008.

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkl... — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:00:00 +0100

This report describes the subsequent investigations conducted by the Virginia Department of Health and CDC to identify the source of infection and any cases of contact transmission. Of the patient's 102 possible contacts, seven had underlying risk factors for developing serious vaccinia infection. Investigators found no evidence of contact transmission and, based on the results of molecular typing, further concluded that the patient had been exposed to a VACV strain that had contaminated the seed stock from the laboratory where the patient worked. This case underscores the importance of adherence to ACIP vaccination recommendations for laboratory workers and use of safety precautions when working with nonhighly attenuated VACV. PMID: 19644439 [PubMed - in process] (Source: MMWR Morb Mo...

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Evaluation of the efficacy of modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA)/IMVAMUNE((R)) against aerosolized rabbitpox virus in a rabbit model.

Vaccine — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:00:00 +0100

This study shows that IMVAMUNE((R)) can be a very effective vaccine against aerosolized RPXV. PMID: 19632316 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Vaccine)

Comparative evaluation of the immune response and protection engendered by LC16m8 and Dryvax smallpox vaccines in a mouse model.

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:00:00 +0100

Authors: Meseda CA, Mayer AE, Kumar A, Garcia AD, Campbell J, Listrani P, Manischewitz J, King LR, Golding H, Merchlinsky M, Weir JP The immune response elicited by LC16m8, a candidate smallpox vaccine that was developed in Japan by cold selection during serial passage of the Lister vaccine virus in primary rabbit kidney cells, was compared to Dryvax in a mouse model. LC16m8 carries a mutation resulting in the truncation of the B5 protein, an important neutralizing target of the extracellular envelope (EV) form of vaccinia virus. LC16m8 elicited a broad-spectrum IgG response that neutralized both the EV and intracellular mature (MV) form of vaccinia virus, and provoked cell-mediated immune responses, including the activation of CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells, similar to Dryvax. Mice inoculate...

Oncolytic vaccinia viral therapy of squamous cell carcinoma

Molecular Cancer — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: These results demonstrate significant efficacy by an attenuated vaccinia virus for infecting and lysing head and neck SCC both in vitro and in vivo, and support its continued investigation in future clinical trials. (Source: Molecular Cancer)

Inhibition of S100A11 gene expression impairs keratinocyte response against vaccinia virus through downregulation of the IL-10 receptor 2 chain

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Inhibition of S100A11 gene expression impairs the ability of keratinocytes to control VV replication via downregulation of IFN-λ receptor IL-10R2. (Source: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology)

Eczema Patients Most At Risk For Dangerous Viral Infections

ScienceDaily Headlines — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:00:00 +0100

Eczema patients at risk for serious viral infections have more severe disease, are more likely to be allergic to food and other allergens, and have a frequent history of staph infections, according to researchers. The findings could help identify people at risk for serious complications of smallpox vaccinations, and point to defects in the skin barrier and antimicrobial-protein production as possible causes for the increased susceptibility. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)

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Recent advances in tropical medicine

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:03:01 +0100

Summary: There have been significant advances in both the classical and neglected tropical diseases, with Guinea worm looking set to be the next disease after smallpox to be eradicated. Aided by a combination of enhanced understanding of the biology of the pathogens, intensification of immunisation activities or mass drug administration, together with the development of synergies with control programmes for co-endemic tropical diseases, polio, lymphatic filariasis, trachoma and onchocerciasis all appear to be in global decline, with good prospects for eventual successful elimination. While the global incidence of new cases of leprosy continues to decrease, the focus of leprosy control efforts has shifted following more widespread recognition that cure of infection does not necessarily prev...

Study characterizes eczema patients most at risk for dangerous viral infections

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:00:00 +0100

(National Jewish Medical and Research Center) Eczema patients at risk for serious viral infections have more severe disease, are more likely to be allergic to food and other allergens, and have a frequent history of staph infections, according to researchers at National Jewish Health. The findings could help identify people at risk for serious complications of smallpox vaccinations, and point to defects in the skin barrier and antimicrobial-protein production as possible causes for the increased susceptibility. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)

Inhibition of NK cell activity by IL-17 allows vaccinia virus to induce severe skin lesions in a mouse model of eczema vaccinatum

The Journal of Experimental Medicine — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Threats of bioterrorism have renewed efforts to better understand poxvirus pathogenesis and to develop a safer vaccine against smallpox. Individuals with atopic dermatitis are excluded from smallpox vaccination because of their propensity to develop eczema vaccinatum, a disseminated vaccinia virus (VACV) infection. To study the underlying mechanism of the vulnerability of atopic dermatitis patients to VACV infection, we developed a mouse model of eczema vaccinatum. Virus infection of eczematous skin induced severe primary erosive skin lesions, but not in the skin of healthy mice. Eczematous mice exhibited lower natural killer (NK) cell activity but similar cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity and humoral immune responses. The role of NK cells in controlling VACV-induced skin lesions was demonst...

Cardiac Complications after Smallpox Vaccination.

Southern Medical Journal — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:56:57 +0100

This article describes a report of myopericarditis following smallpox immunization and provides a review of all cardiac complications associated with vaccination.Page: 615DOI: 10.1097/SMJ.0b013e31819fe55bAuthors: Mora, Luis F. MD; Khan, Akbar H. MD; Sperling, Laurence S. MD, FACC, FACP, FAHA (Source: Southern Medical Journal)

The immunology of smallpox vaccines.

Current Opinion in Immunology — Sun, 31 May 2009 23:00:00 +0100

Authors: Kennedy RB, Ovsyannikova IG, Jacobson RM, Poland GA In spite of the eradication of smallpox over 30 years ago; orthopox viruses such as smallpox and monkeypox remain serious public health threats both through the possibility of bioterrorism and the intentional release of smallpox and through natural outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases such as monkeypox. The eradication effort was largely made possible by the availability of an effective vaccine based on the immunologically cross-protective vaccinia virus. Although the concept of vaccination dates back to the late 1800s with Edward Jenner, it is only in the past decade that modern immunologic tools have been applied toward deciphering poxvirus immunity. Smallpox vaccines containing vaccinia virus elicit strong humoral and...

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Mystery Of Potentially Fatal Reaction To Smallpox Vaccine Unlocked By La Jolla Institute

Health News from Medical News Today — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:00:00 +0100

Researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have pinpointed the cellular defect that increases the likelihood, among eczema sufferers, of developing eczema vaccinatum, a severe and potentially fatal reaction to the smallpox vaccine. The research, conducted in mouse models, was funded under a special research network created by the National Institutes of Health in 2004. (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Research developing smallpox vaccine for eczema sufferers

Huliq Health News — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:33:48 +0100

La Jolla Institute unlocks mystery of potentially fatal reaction to smallpox vaccine

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health — Mon, 25 May 2009 04:00:00 +0100

(La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology) Researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have pinpointed the cellular defect that increases the likelihood, among eczema sufferers, of developing eczema vaccinatum, a severe and potentially fatal reaction to the smallpox vaccine. The research, conducted in mouse models, was funded under a special research network created by the National Institutes of Health in 2004. The network is working toward the development of a new smallpox vaccine that could be administered to eczema sufferers. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)

Progressive vaccinia in a military smallpox vaccinee - United States, 2009.

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkl... — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:00:00 +0100

This report summarizes the patient's protracted clinical course and the military and civilian interagency governmental, academic, and industry public health contributions to his complex medical management. The quantities of investigational and licensed therapeutics and diagnostics used were greater than anticipated based on existing smallpox preparedness plans. To support future public health needs adequately, the estimated national supply of therapeutics and diagnostic resources required to care for smallpox vaccine adverse events should be reevaluated. PMID: 19478722 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] (Source: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkl...)

Scientists Discover How Smallpox May Derail Human Immune System

Health News from Medical News Today — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:00:00 +0100

University of Florida researchers have learned more about how smallpox conducts its deadly business - discoveries that may reveal as much about the human immune system as they do about one of the world's most feared pathogens. (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

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Smallpox revaccination of 21000 first responders in Israel: lessons learned

International Journal of Infectious Diseases — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:02:12 +0100

Conclusions: The campaign achieved all its basic goals and provided useful lessons for any mass-vaccination programs that might be necessary in the future. (Source: International Journal of Infectious Diseases)

Smallpox vaccine: Regional folliculitis: case report

Reactions — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:29:34 +0100

(Source: Reactions)

Smallpox vaccine: Regional folliculitis: case report.

Reactions Weekly — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:28:23 +0100

Page: 31 (Source: Reactions Weekly)

New Smallpox Vaccine Immunogenic and Safe

Internal Medicine News — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0100

The third-generation smallpox vaccine LC16m8 was found to be as immunogenic as existing smallpox vaccines but appeared to be safer in a study of more than 3,000 Japanese adults. (Source: Internal Medicine News)

Pursuing protection from disease: the making of smallpox prophylactic practice in colonial punjab.

Bulletin of the History of Medicine — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:39:08 +0100

Authors: Abstract:Summary: Focusing on colonial Punjab, this article explores how agrarian lower-class families' pursuit of safe and effective protection from smallpox shaped the region's prophylactic practices during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Specifically, the article explains shifts from variolation in conjunction with Sitala (smallpox goddess) worship to vaccination in conjunction with Sitala worship; from vaccination with crusts to vaccination with human and animal lymph; and from vaccination with fresh lymph to vaccination with tubed lymph. The article also illustrates how, regardless of the particular technologies employed at any given point in time, the demand for, and efficacy of, vaccination varied with seasonal fluctuations in labor and disease. More...

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Borrowing, adapting, and learning the practices of smallpox: notes from colonial goa.

Bulletin of the History of Medicine — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:39:08 +0100

Authors: Summary:In this article I will address colonial state policies toward smallpox in nineteenth-century Goa. The picture that emerges from the analysis of health services documents suggests a broad variety of coexisting practices. While the actions of some of the Portuguese head physicians epitomized the conflict between state-sponsored vaccination policies and local preferences for smallpox inoculation, others showed sympathy for and developed arguments in favor of inoculation as practiced by indigenous experts. Still others observed the existence among the population of hybrid practices combining elements of vaccination and inoculation. The diversity of Goan combinations along the violence/collaboration continuum should be interpreted within the context of current trends in th...

Jennerian vaccination and the creation of a national public health agenda in Japan, 1850-1900.

Bulletin of the History of Medicine — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:39:08 +0100

Authors: Summary:Vaccination played a leading role in transforming the social and political status of medicine in Japanese society in the second half of the nineteenth century. The process began well before the Meiji Restoration of 1868 created a centralized government under the Japanese emperor. At the beginning of the century, medicine was a private business. There was no oversight from an interested government, and there were no medical societies or journals in which to debate and formulate opinion about medical practice. Medical knowledge was transmitted privately through personal lineage structures whose members jealously guarded their medical techniques. For almost a half century before live vaccine could be imported, knowledge of vaccination was limited to a small group of Japa...

Safeguarding Slaves: Smallpox, Vaccination, and Governmental Health Policies among the Enslaved Population in the Danish West Indies, 1803-1848.

Bulletin of the History of Medicine — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:39:08 +0100

Authors: Summary:During the first half of the nineteenth century, a unique system of vaccination against smallpox was developed in the island of St. Croix in the Danish West Indies. The primary intention was to protect the population of enslaved workers, which was of fundamental importance to the economy of the colony. However, because the Danish abolition of the slave trade in 1803 had stopped the imports of new enslaved workers from Africa, the population was also decreasing. The vaccination system's success was due to a high degree of governmental control of the enslaved population that was virtually unseen anywhere else in the Caribbean. PMID: 19329843 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Bulletin of the History of Medicine)

The World's First Immunization Campaign: The Spanish Smallpox Vaccine Expedition, 1803-1813.

Bulletin of the History of Medicine — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:39:08 +0100

Authors: Summary:Smallpox produced the death of up to thirty percent of those infected, so Jenner's preventive method spread quickly. The Spanish government designed and supported a ten-year effort to carry smallpox vaccine to its American and Asian territories in a chain of arm-to-arm vaccination of children. An expedition directed by Doctor Francisco Xavier de Balmis sailed from Corunna in November 1803, stopping in the Canary Islands, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. Balmis led a subexpedition to Cuba, Mexico, and the Philippines; his assistants returned to Mexico in 1807, while Balmis took vaccine to China and returned to Spain (and again to Mexico, 1810-13). Vice-director José Salvany and his staff took vaccine to present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chilean Patagoni...

Smallpox and Cowpox under the Southern Cross: The Smallpox Epidemic of 1789 and the Advent of Vaccination in Colonial Australia.

Bulletin of the History of Medicine — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:39:08 +0100

Authors: Summary:In histories of smallpox and vaccination, little attention has been paid to their progress in the southern latitudes. In this paper, I focus on the appearance of smallpox around Sydney Cove in 1789 and the introduction of cowpox (vaccine) to New South Wales in 1804. I demonstrate the connections, historical and virological, between the two events and examine the role of variolation in the spread of smallpox and in anticipating vaccination. I argue that imported "variolous matter," perhaps obtained in Cape Town, may have been the source of infection in the catastrophic epidemic among the Aborigines in 1789. I likewise examine the means by which vaccine was brought to Australia in relation to comparable initiatives around the Indian Ocean. I assess the significance of t...

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Catching cowpox: the early spread of smallpox vaccination, 1798-1810.

Bulletin of the History of Medicine — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:39:08 +0100

Authors: Summary:The introduction of smallpox vaccination after the publication of Edward Jenner's An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of Variolae Vaccinae depended on the spread of cowpox, a relatively rare disease. How Europeans and their colonial allies transported and maintained cowpox in new environments is a social and technological story involving a broad range of individuals from physicians and surgeons to philanthropists, ministers, and colonial administrators. Putting cowpox in new places also meant developing new techniques and organizations. This essay focuses on the actual practices of vaccination and their environmental contexts in order to illuminate the dynamic exchanges of materials, images, and ideas that made the spread of vaccination possible. PMID: 19329840...

Introduction: simultaneously global and local: reassessing smallpox vaccination and its spread, 1789-1900.

Bulletin of the History of Medicine — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:39:08 +0100

Authors: Summary:The last two decades have seen a reawakening of scholarly interest in the history of smallpox prevention. Accounts of vaccination and others efforts at controlling smallpox have moved away from heroic narratives toward more nuanced and contextualized understandings. It is now accepted that several viruses traveled under the vaccine label from the outset, and it has been demonstrated that a variety of techniques were used to perform vaccination operations. The character of nineteenth century sea voyages that took the vaccine to distant territories has also been re-examined; sometimes the spread of the vaccine was caused by private networks and ad hoc decisions, while at other times it was the result of enterprises with close resemblances to contemporary centralized vac...

New Smallpox Vaccine Found Immunogenic

Family Practice News — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0100

The third-generation smallpox vaccine LC16m8 was found to be as immunogenic as existing smallpox vaccines but appeared to be safer, according to a study of over 3,000 Japanese adults. (Source: Family Practice News)

Natural human infections with Vaccinia virus during bovine vaccinia outbreaks

Journal of Clinical Virology — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: This study confirms the high clinical frequency of human VACV infection, even among vaccinated individuals. The infection was related to detection of IgG- or IgM-specific antibodies that correlates in most of the cases with positive PRNT. The DNAemia suggests viremia during VACV natural infections. Our data indicate that patients vaccinated against smallpox may no longer be protected. (Source: Journal of Clinical Virology)

Vulvar vaccinia infection after sexual contact with a smallpox vaccinee.

The American Journal of the Medical Sciences — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:00:00 +0100

We report a subsequent case of vulvar vaccinia infection acquired during sexual contact with a military vaccinee. PMID: 19365178 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] (Source: The American Journal of the Medical Sciences)

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Existing antiviral vaccines

Dermatologic Therapy — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100

This article will review vaccination for the following viral diseases: measles, mumps, rubella, polio, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, rotavirus, rabies, monkeypox, smallpox, Japanese encephalitis, and yellow fever. (Source: Dermatologic Therapy)

Attenuated Tissue-Cultured Smallpox Vaccine May Be Safe, Effective

Medscape Allergy Headlines — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:24:49 +0100

Attenuated tissue-cultured smallpox vaccine may be safe and effective in producing seroconversion in vaccinia-naive individuals and a booster response in some previously vaccinated individuals. Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Allergy Headlines)

Tissue-Cultured Smallpox Vaccine Appears Promising

Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:00:00 +0100

Administration of a tissue-cultured smallpox vaccine showed signs of an effective vaccine response with no serious adverse events, according to a study in the March 11 issue of JAMA. "The threat of smallpox bioterrorism has prompted reconsideration of the need for smallpox vaccination. (Source: Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today)

Smallpox Vaccine Appears Safe and Immunogenic

MedPage Today Geriatrics — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:00:00 +0100

SAITAMA, Japan (MedPage Today) -- A live attenuated tissue-cultured smallpox vaccine -- first used in children in the 1970s -- is safe and immunogenic in adults, researchers here said. (Source: MedPage Today Geriatrics)

Japanese Researchers Develop New Smallpox Vaccine

MedlinePlus Health News — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:00:00 +0100

No serious side effects are found in latest test, study reports . Source: HealthDay (Source: MedlinePlus Health News)

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Virus Reveals Secret To Cancer Spread, UK

Health News from Medical News Today — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Cancer Research UK scientists studying a virus have unveiled an important clue to understanding how cancer spreads. Their research is published in Nature*. They discovered that the dynamics of the protein N-WASP determines how fast the vaccina virus moves. The vaccinia virus was used as a vaccine to eradicate Smallpox. (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Third-Generation Smallpox Vaccine LC16m8 Deemed Effective

Modern Medicine — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100

In unvaccinated or previously vaccinated adults, the use of the third-generation smallpox vaccine LC16m8 is associated with a high rate of seroconversion or booster response, and a low rate of adverse reactions, according to research published in the Mar. 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Source: Modern Medicine)

ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION: Clinical and Immunological Response to Attenuated Tissue-Cultured Smallpox Vaccine LC16m8

JAMA — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Conclusion Administration of an attenuated tissue-cultured smallpox vaccine (LC16m8) to healthy adults was associated with high levels of vaccine take and seroconversion in those who were vaccinia-naive and yielded an effective booster response in some previously vaccinated individuals. (Source: JAMA)

Smallpox 'clue' to cancer spread

Scotsman.com News - Health — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

THE smallpox vaccine may hold a vital clue to the way cancer spreads around the body, scientists have found. (Source: Scotsman.com News - Health)

Bavarian Nordic Has Essentially Agreed A Pathway For The Licensure Of IMVAMUNE(R) With The FDA After Successful End Of Phase II Meeting

Health News from Medical News Today — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:00:00 +0100

Following the completion of the Phase II clinical development of IMVAMUNE®, a third-generation smallpox vaccine, Bavarian Nordic has held an end of Phase II meeting with the FDA to discuss the Phase III development. The meeting was a success and there was an open and highly constructive discussion with the FDA. (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

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Engineering the vaccinia virus L1 protein for increased neutralizing antibody response after DNA immunization

Virology Journal — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Modifications of the vaccinia virus L1 gene including codon optimization and addition of a signal sequence with or without deletion of the transmembrane domain can enhance the neutralizing antibody response of a DNA vaccine. (Source: Virology Journal)

Experts fight H5N1 bird flu using smallpox vaccine

Avian Influenza — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:10:39 +0100

Reuters - Scientists in Hong Kong and the United States have developed an experimental H5N1 bird flu vaccine for people by piggybacking it on the well-tested and highly successful smallpox vaccine. http://www.reuters.com/article/africaCrisis/idUSHKG196430 (Source: Avian Influenza)

From the editors

Nature Reviews Immunology — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:18:09 +0100

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 143 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2523 The emergence of immunology as a scientific discipline can be attributed to observations made by Edward Jenner in the 18th century that led to the generation of a vaccine against smallpox. Although vaccines have made revolutionary contributions to global health, their long-term success (Source: Nature Reviews Immunology)

Cutting Edge: Mucosal Application of a Lyophilized Viral Vector Vaccine Confers Systemic and Protective Immunity toward Intracellular Pathogens.

Journal of Immunology — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:47:20 +0100

We report in this study that a stable, lyophilized, modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) vaccine can be directly applied to the nostrils of mice without previous reconstitution. This direct mucosal application induced systemic Ab and T cell responses comparable to those achieved by i.m. administration. Importantly, mucosal application of lyophilized MVA induced long-lasting protective immunity against lethal bacterial and viral challenges. These data clearly demonstrate the potency of a simple needle-free vaccination, combining the advantages of mucosal application with the stability and efficiency of lyophilized MVA. PMID: 19234150 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Immunology)

Vaccinia Virus-Based Multivalent H5N1 Avian Influenza Vaccines Adjuvanted with IL-15 Confer Sterile Cross-Clade Protection in Mice.

Journal of Immunology — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:39:27 +0100

Authors: Poon LL, Leung YH, Nicholls JM, Perera PY, Lichy JH, Yamamoto M, Waldmann TA, Peiris JS, Perera LP The potential for a global influenza pandemic remains significant with epidemiologic and ecologic indicators revealing the entrenchment of the highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N1 in both wild bird populations and domestic poultry flocks in Asia and in many African and European countries. Indisputably, the single most effective public health intervention in mitigating the devastation such a pandemic could unleash is the availability of a safe and effective vaccine that can be rapidly deployed for pre-exposure vaccination of millions of people. We have developed two vaccinia-based influenza vaccines that are molecularly adjuvanted with the immune stimulatory cytokine IL-15. Th...

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Natural human infections with Vaccinia virus during bovine vaccinia outbreaks.

Journal of Clinical Virology — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100

CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the high clinical frequency of human VACV infection, even among vaccinated individuals. The infection was related to detection of IgG- or IgM-specific antibodies that correlates in most of the cases with positive PRNT. The DNAemia suggests viremia during VACV natural infections. Our data indicate that patients vaccinated against smallpox may no longer be protected. PMID: 19243990 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Journal of Clinical Virology)

Recent advances in tropical medicine.

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Solomon AW, Nayagam S, Pasvol G There have been significant advances in both the classical and neglected tropical diseases, with Guinea worm looking set to be the next disease after smallpox to be eradicated. Aided by a combination of enhanced understanding of the biology of the pathogens, intensification of immunisation activities or mass drug administration, together with the development of synergies with control programmes for co-endemic tropical diseases, polio, lymphatic filariasis, trachoma and onchocerciasis all appear to be in global decline, with good prospects for eventual successful elimination. While the global incidence of new cases of leprosy continues to decrease, the focus of leprosy control efforts has shifted following more widespread recognition that cure of...

Smallpox vaccine: Encephalitis with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis: case report.

Reactions Weekly — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 12:38:35 +0100

Page: 30 (Source: Reactions Weekly)

Smallpox vaccine: Encephalitis with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis: case report

Reactions — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 12:14:34 +0100

(Source: Reactions)

Vaccination programs showing its effectiveness

Medicineworld.org: New Article Alert — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:26:12 +0100

"Conventional wisdom and conventional theory tells us that when infection can potentially be spread to almost everyone in a community, such as for measles, a disease outbreak can never be contained using voluntary vaccination," says Chris Bauch and Ana Persic, scientists from the University of Guelph. "However, our work shows conventional wisdom appears to be wrong for diseases that are spread primarily through close contact, such as smallpox." Their findings are reported in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology on February 6th........ (Source: Medicineworld.org: New Article Alert)

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Social Contact Networks and Disease Eradicability under Voluntary Vaccination

PLoS Computational Biology — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Author Summary Interest in infectious disease models that incorporate the effects of human behavior has been growing in recent years. However, most of these models predict that it should never be possible to eradicate a disease under voluntary vaccination, due to nonvaccinating “free riders” that emerge when vaccine coverage is high. This prediction contradicts the fact that smallpox was eradicated under a voluntary vaccination policy in many jurisdictions, and that other diseases such as polio are likewise near eradication. These previous models assumed that populations mix homogeneously. However, for some diseases, such as HIV and smallpox, individuals are more likely to get the disease from certain social contacts. Here we show that using a network model that captures this social s...

Effective post-exposure protection against lethal orthopoxviruses infection by vaccinia immune globulin involves induction of adaptive immune response.

Vaccine — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Lustig S, Maik-Rachline G, Paran N, Melamed S, Israely T, Erez N, Orr N, Reuveny S, Ordentlich A, Laub O, Shafferman A, Velan B The therapeutic potential of human vaccinia immunoglobulin (VIG) in orthopoxvirus infection was examined using two mouse models for human poxvirus, based on Ectromelia virus and Vaccinia Western Reserve (WR) respiratory infections. Despite the relatively fast clearance of human VIG from mice circulation, a single VIG injection protected immune-competent mice against both infections. Full protection against lethal Ectromelia virus infection was achieved by VIG injection up to one day post-exposure, and even injection of VIG two or three days post-infection conferred solid protection (60-80%). Nevertheless, VIG failed to protect VACV-WR challenged immun...

CC Grand Rounds: (1) Designing the Historical Atlas of 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic in the US (2) Smallpox Vaccination at NIH: Unexpected Findings

Videocast - All Events — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:01:00 +0100

Presented by: Howard Markel, MD, PhD and Jeffrey Cohen, MDCategory: Clinical Center Grand RoundsAired date: 01/21/2009 (Source: Videocast - All Events)

Smallpox vaccine: Eczema vaccinatum in a child with atopic dermatitis: case report

Reactions — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 07:16:13 +0100

(Source: Reactions)

Immunogenicity of recombinant Modified Vaccinia Ankara following a single or multi-dose vaccine regimen in rhesus monkeys.

Vaccine — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Grandpre LE, Duke-Cohan JS, Ewald BA, Devoy C, Barouch DH, Letvin NL, Reinherz EL, Baden LR, Dolin R, Seaman MS Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) is a replication-defective strain of vaccinia virus (VV) that is being investigated in humans as an alternative vaccine against smallpox. Understanding the parameters of a MVA vaccine regimen that can effectively enhance protective immunity will be important for clinical development. The present studies utilize cohorts of rhesus monkeys immunized with recombinant MVA (rMVA) or recombinant VV (rVV) vaccine vectors to investigate the magnitude, breadth, and durability of anti-VV immunity elicited by a single or multi-dose vaccine regimen. These data demonstrate that a single immunization with rMVA elicits weaker cellular and humoral immun...

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Bavarian Nordic's Case Against Oxford BioMedica

Pharma Industry News From Medical News Today — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:00:00 +0100

Bavarian Nordic owns several United States patents relating to an attenuated strain of the company's core technology, MVA-BN®, which is the basis for its smallpox vaccine, IMVAMUNE®. MVA-BN® also holds promise as a vector for delivering recombinant vaccines. Bavarian Nordic has asserted three US patents as a basis for its infringement action. (Source: Pharma Industry News From Medical News Today)

CC Grand Rounds: (1) Designing the Historical Atlas of 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic in the US (2) Smallpox Vaccination at NIH: Unexpected Findings

Videocast - All Events — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:53:00 +0100

Contemporary Clinical Medicine Howard Markel, MD, PhD The George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor and Director, Center for the History of Medicine, and Professor of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases The University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor Jeffrey Cohen, MD Chief, Medical Virology Section and Senior Investigator, Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases, NIAID For more information, visit http://www.cc.nih.gov/about/news/grcurrent.htmlAir date: 1/21/2009 12:00:00 PM (Source: Videocast - All Events)

Smallpox vaccine: Encephalitis: case report

Reactions — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:17:37 +0100

(Source: Reactions)

The heterogeneity of human antibody responses to vaccinia virus revealed through use of focused protein arrays.

Vaccine — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Duke-Cohan JS, Wollenick K, Witten EA, Seaman MS, Baden LR, Dolin R, Reinherz EL The renewed interest in strategies to combat infectious agents with epidemic potential has led to a re-examination of vaccination protocols against smallpox. To help define which antigens elucidate a human antibody response, we have targeted proteins known or predicted to be presented on the surface of the intracellular mature virion (IMV) or the extracellular enveloped virion (EEV). The predicted ectodomains were expressed in a mammalian in vitro coupled transcription/translation reaction using tRNA(lys) precharged with lysine-varepsilon-biotin followed by solid phase immobilization on 384-well neutravidin-coated plates. The generated array is highly specific and sensitive in a micro-ELISA format...

Smallpox vaccine: Encephalitis: case report.

Reactions Weekly — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 07:33:57 +0100

Page: 32 (Source: Reactions Weekly)

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Electrocardiography screening for cardiotoxicity after modified Vaccinia Ankara vaccination.

The American Journal of Medicine — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

CONCLUSION: New minor ECG abnormalities are common in apparently young healthy volunteers considered for smallpox vaccination trials. Cardiologist over-read of computer-generated ECG statements in vaccine trials using ECG as a screening tool for safety can reduce false-positive computer-determined ECG diagnoses and the need for inappropriate cardiology referral and additional noninvasive testing. PMID: 19114175 [PubMed - in process] (Source: The American Journal of Medicine)

Mathematical Models Of Adaptive Immunity

ScienceDaily Headlines — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:44:19 +0100

More than five million people die every year from infectious diseases, despite the availability of numerous antibiotics and vaccines. The discovery of penicillin to treat bacterial infections, along with the development of vaccines for previously incurable virus diseases such as polio and smallpox, achieved great reductions in mortality during the mid-20th century. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)

[History of Medicine] The Royal Philanthropic Expedition of the Vaccine: a landmark in the history of public health

Postgraduate Medical Journal — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100

In 1979, smallpox officially became the first disease ever to be eradicated by mankind. The global efforts to defeat this dreadful pandemic, however, started almost two centuries before. One of the most important, and sometimes forgotten, events in the fight against smallpox was the Royal Philanthropic Expedition of the Vaccine, commissioned by Charles IV of Spain to physicians Francisco Xavier Balmis y Berenguer and Jose Salvany in 1804. The aim of this expedition was to take the smallpox vaccine, discovered by Jenner, to Spain’s territories in the Americas and in the Far East. After several years of vaccination in modern day Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico and the Philippines, the expedition returned to Europe. To this day, the Balmis and Salvany...

[History of Medicine] The Royal Philanthropic Expedition of the Vaccine: a landmark in the history of public health

Postgraduate Medical Journal — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Mousepox in the C57BL/6 strain provides an improved model for evaluating anti-poxvirus therapies.

Virology — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100

In this study we show that a low dose intranasal infection of C57BL/6 mice results in 60-80% mortality and better models smallpox. Comparing CMX001 (HDP-cidofovir) efficacy in the A/Ncr strain and the C57BL/6 strain revealed that delayed treatment with CMX001 is more efficacious at preventing severe disease in the C57BL/6 strain. The increased efficacy of CMX001 in C57BL/6 over A/Ncr following an intranasal infection with ectromelia appears to be mediated by a stronger Th1 cell mediated response. Following footpad infection we show that the C57BL/6 strain has earlier and more robust transcriptional activity, Th1 cytokine secretions, antigen presenting activity and IFNgamma splenic CD8+ T cell responses as compared to the A/Ncr strain. As a result of the enhanced immune response in the C57B...

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Principles of vaccination and possible development strategies for rational design.

Immunology Letters — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Boog CJ Historically, apart from hygiene, vaccination can be considered as one of the most successful accomplishments of public health in the 20th century. It has lead to some of the greater public health triumphs ever, including the eradication of naturally occurring smallpox and in the control of diseases such as polio. In addition there has been a significant reduction in disease burden imposed by measles, mumps, hepatitis, influenza, diphtheria, haemophilus influenza B and many other infections. PMID: 19100778 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Immunology Letters)

Designer adjuvants for enhancing the efficacy of infectious disease and cancer vaccines based on suppression of regulatory T cell induction.

Immunology Letters — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Mills KH Live attenuated or inactivated bacteria and viruses have formed the basis of many successful vaccines, including those that have eliminated smallpox and have almost eliminated poliovirus. The whole virus or bacteria approach remains the most effective means of generating protective immunity by vaccination. However, these vaccines can be associated with mild to severe side effects, such as that observed with the whole cell pertussis vaccine. Furthermore, rare cases of vaccine-associated disease can result from reversion of an attenuated virus to the virulent form, such as that reported with the oral polio vaccine. Advances in genomics, molecular biology and immunology have now facilitated the identification, recombinant expression and immunological characterization of ...

ST246 in vitro efficacy against smallpox and monkeypox.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Smith SK, Olson VA, Karem KL, Jordan R, Hruby DE, Damon IK Since the eradication of smallpox (5) and the cessation of routine childhood vaccination for smallpox, the proportion of the world's population susceptible to infection with orthopoxviruses, such as variola (causative agent of smallpox) and monkeypox, has grown substantially. In the U.S. the only vaccines for smallpox licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been live virus vaccines. Unfortunately, a substantial number of people cannot receive live virus vaccines due to contraindications. Furthermore, no antiviral drugs have been fully approved by the FDA for the prevention or treatment of orthopoxvirus infection. Here, we show the inhibitory effect of one new antiviral compound, ST-246(R), on the in vit...

Smallpox Vaccine Protects for Decades

Medscape Infectious Diseases Headlines — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:03:34 +0100

The results of a new study suggest that just one dose of the vaccinia vaccine against smallpox provides immunity for as long as 88 years -- which has implications if smallpox were used as a biological weapon. Reuters Health Information (Source: Medscape Infectious Diseases Headlines)

Mathematical Models Of Adaptive Immunity

IT / Internet / E-mail News From Medical News Today — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:00:00 +0100

MedWorm Message: Get the very latest Swine Flu news via the MedWorm Swine Flu RSS news feed - updated hourly from thousands of authoritative health and news sources.

Mathematical models of adaptive immunity

Huliq Health News — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:56:40 +0100

Comparison of the safety and immunogenicity of ACAM1000, ACAM2000 and Dryvax((R)) in healthy vaccinia-naive adults.

Vaccine — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Frey SE, Newman FK, Kennedy JS, Ennis F, Abate G, Hoft DF, Monath TP Currently, more than half of the world's population has no immunity against smallpox variola major virus. This phase I double-blind, randomized trial was conducted to compare the safety and immunogenicity of two clonally derived, cell-culture manufactured vaccinia strains, ACAM1000 and ACAM2000, to the parent vaccine, Dryvax((R)). Thirty vaccinia-naïve subjects were enrolled into each of three groups and vaccines were administered percutaneously using a bifurcated needle at a dose of 1.0x10(8)PFU/mL. All subjects had a primary skin reaction indicating a successful vaccination. The adverse events, 4-fold neutralizing antibody rise and T cell immune responses were similar between the groups. PMID: 1907...

Phenotypic and genetic diversity of the traditional Lister smallpox vaccine.

Vaccine — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Garcel A, Perino J, Crance JM, Drillien R, Garin D, Favier AL As an initial step in the development of a second-generation smallpox vaccine derived from the Lister strain, to be prepared for a variola virus threat, diversity of the traditional vaccine was examined by characterizing a series of ten viral clones. In vitro and in vivo phenotypic studies showed that the biological behavior of the clones diverged from each other and in most cases diverged from the vaccinia virus (VACV) Lister parental population. Taken together, these results demonstrate the heterogeneity of the viral population within the smallpox vaccine and highlight the difficulty in choosing one clone which would meet the current requirements for a safe and effective vaccine candidate. PMID: 19059294 [PubM...

Responding to suspected smallpox cases in the Los Angeles County from 2002 to 2006: identifying areas for education.

The American Journal of Emergency Medicine — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:34:44 +0100

CONCLUSIONS: Public health investigated 5 suspected smallpox cases in the past 5 years. Two presented initially to EDs. Education differentiating smallpox from chickenpox and collaboration between public health, EDs, and health care providers remains important. The ability to respond rapidly to a potential bioterrorism emergency was tested. PMID: 19041534 [PubMed - in process] (Source: The American Journal of Emergency Medicine)

The Government Of Canada Procures IMVAMUNE(R) Smallpox Vaccine For The Country's Biological Preparedness

Health News from Medical News Today — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Following a Request for Proposal issued in 2007 with the intent to procure an MVA-based, third generation smallpox vaccine, Public Works and Government Services Canada, on behalf of the Canadian Department of National Defence, has awarded a contract to Bavarian Nordic for the delivery of IMVAMUNE®. (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

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New Study Indicates Smallpox Vaccination Effective For Decades

Health News from Medical News Today — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Although naturally occurring smallpox was eradicated in 1977, there is concern that bioterrorists might obtain smallpox from a laboratory and release it into the population. Under such circumstances, the supply of smallpox vaccine may be insufficient for universal administration. (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Smallpox vaccine works a lifetime

Health News - UPI.com — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:26:39 +0100

BETHESDA, Md., Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Lifetime protection is obtained from just one smallpox vaccination -- even if it occurred 88 years ago, U.S. researchers say. (Source: Health News - UPI.com)

Smallpox Vaccination Effective For Decades, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily Headlines — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

There is concern that bioterrorists might obtain smallpox from a laboratory and release it into the population. However researchers found that lifetime protection is obtained from just one vaccination, even when that vaccination occurred as much as 88 years ago. They conclude that in the event of a smallpox bioterrorist attack, vaccinia smallpox vaccine should be used first on individuals who have not been vaccinated previously. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)

New study indicates smallpox vaccination effective for decades

EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

(Elsevier Health Sciences) There is concern that bioterrorists might obtain smallpox from a laboratory and release it into the population. In a study published in the December 2008 issue of the American Journal of Medicine, researchers found that lifetime protection is obtained from just one vaccination, even when that vaccination occurred as much as 88 years ago. They conclude that in the event of a smallpox bioterrorist attack, vaccinia smallpox vaccine should be used first on individuals who have not been vaccinated previously. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)

Immunity from smallpox vaccine persists for decades: a longitudinal study.

The American Journal of Medicine — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:32:36 +0100

CONCLUSION: These data suggest that multiple or recent vaccinations are not essential to maintain vaccinia-specific antibody responses in human subjects. Scarce vaccine supplies should be applied first to individuals who have not previously been vaccinated. PMID: 19028201 [PubMed - in process] (Source: The American Journal of Medicine)

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Smallpox Vaccines for Biodefense: Need and Feasibility

Medscape Allergy Headlines — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:43:05 +0100

This article assesses the status of newer-generation vaccines including the overall risk-versus-benefit profile. Expert Review of Vaccines (Source: Medscape Allergy Headlines)

Response surface methodology to determine optimal cytokine responses in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells after smallpox vaccination.

Journal of Immunological Methods — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Ryan JE, Dhiman N, Ovsyannikova IG, Vierkant RA, Pankratz VS, Poland GA Feasibility, amount of sample aliquots, processing time and cost are critical considerations for optimizing and conducting assays for large-population based studies. Well designed statistical approaches that quickly identify optimal conditions for a given assay could assist efficient completion of the laboratory assays for such studies. For example, assessment of the profile of secreted cytokines is important in understanding the immune response after vaccination. To characterize the cytokine immune response following smallpox vaccination, PBMC obtained from recently vaccinated subjects were stimulated with varying doses of live or UV-inactivated vaccinia virus and cultured for up to 8 days. In this paper,...

Eczema vaccinatum resulting from the transmission of vaccinia virus from a smallpox vaccinee: An investigation of potential fomites in the home environment.

Vaccine — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Lederman E, Miramontes R, Openshaw J, Olson VA, Karem KL, Marcinak J, Panares R, Staggs W, Allen D, Weber SG, Vora S, Gerber SI, Hughes CM, Regnery R, Collins L, Diaz PS, Reynolds MG, Damon I On March 3, 2007, a 2-year-old boy was hospitalized with eczema vaccinatum. His two siblings, one with eczema, were subsequently removed from the home. Swabs of household items obtained on March 13th were analyzed for orthopoxvirus DNA signatures with real-time PCR. Virus culture was attempted on positive specimens. Eight of 25 household samples were positive by PCR for orthopoxvirus; of these, three yielded viable vaccinia virus in culture. Both siblings were found to have serologic evidence of orthopoxvirus exposure. These findings have implications for smallpox preparedness, especially...

Possible autoimmune reactions following smallpox vaccination: The biologic false positive test for syphilis.

Vaccine — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Monath TP, Frey SE Due to the threat of bioterrorism, large-scale clinical trials of a new cell culture smallpox vaccine were conducted. Biologically false positive (BFR) serological reactions to viruses (hepatitis B and C, HIV) and syphilis were evaluated. BPR rapid regain tests (RPR) to syphilis occurred in 19% and false positive tests for antibody to hepatitis B in 3.3% of 90 healthy adults undergoing primary vaccination. Most subjects (94%) were RPR-positive on Day 15 after vaccination and all seroreverted within 2 months thereafter. One subject with myocarditis was RPR-negative. One RPR-positive and 1 RPR-negative subject had elevated CK-MB enzymes without other evidence for myocarditis. PMID: 19022322 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Vaccine)

Vaccination history and risk of non-hodgkin lymphoma: a population-based, case–control study

Cancer Causes and Control — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:39:42 +0100

Conclusion Risk of NHL is inversely associated with polio and smallpox vaccination and positively associated with influenza vaccination. These associations appear to differ by histologic subtype. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10552-008-9259-xAuthors Heather A. Lankes, Northwestern University Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine 680 North Lake Shore Drive, Suite 1102 Chicago IL 60611-4402 USAAngela J. Fought, Northwestern University Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine 680 North Lake Shore Drive, Suite 1102 Chicago IL 60611-4402 USAAndrew M. Evens, Northwestern University Division of Hematology/Oncology Lymphoma Program, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine Chicago IL US...

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Smallpox revaccination of 21000 first responders in Israel: lessons learned.

International Journal of Infectious Diseases — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

CONCLUSIONS: The campaign achieved all its basic goals and provided useful lessons for any mass-vaccination programs that might be necessary in the future. PMID: 19010077 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: International Journal of Infectious Diseases)

Smallpox vaccine: First report of gastroparesis: case report

Reactions — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:50:09 +0100

(Source: Reactions)

Smallpox vaccine: First report of gastroparesis: case report.

Reactions Weekly — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 10:22:14 +0100

Page: 24 (Source: Reactions Weekly)

Vaccinia virus in humans and cattle in southwest region of sao paulo state, Brazil.

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Authors: Megid J, Appolinário CM, Langoni H, Pituco EM, Okuda LH A new outbreak of Vaccinia virus was observed in Southwest region of São Paulo State, Brazil. The disease was observed in four small dairy farms with manual milking. Lesions were detected in cattle and in humans previously vaccinated and not vaccinated against smallpox. Although several reports of Vaccinia virus outbreaks have been occurring in Brazil, it was not yet reported in this region. This outbreak reinforces the viral circulation in our country. The disease in persons previously vaccinated and not vaccinated against smallpox reinforces the absence of immunity, the risk to the human health, and the need for more epidemiologic and immunologic studies. PMID: 18981497 [PubMed - in process] (Source: The A...