BACKGROUND The potential for a bioterrorist attack involving smallpox has led to a debate about what national precautions should be taken. What is unclear is the public's knowledge of smallpox and views about precautions. METHODS We conducted a national survey of 1006 adults selected by means of random-digit dialing. Respondents were asked about their knowledge of and beliefs about the smallp...

Although smallpox was globally eradicated in 1977, the current threat of smallpox as a bioterrorism agent is unknown. Based on intelligence reports, the U.S. government and public health sectors have recommended smallpox vaccination for very select individuals. Patients with cancer are at particular risk for complications from the smallpox vaccine because of potential immunosuppression. Vaccina...

Outbreaks of smallpox (i.e., caused by variola virus) resulted in up to 30% mortality, but those who survived smallpox infection were regarded as immune for life. Early studies described the levels of neutralizing antibodies induced after infection, but smallpox was eradicated before contemporary methods for quantifying T-cell memory were developed. To better understand the levels and duration ...

In December 2002, the Department of Defense re-instituted smallpox vaccination for US military forces following growing concerns that smallpox might be employed as a bioterrorist weapon. More than one million service members have been given the smallpox vaccine since 2002, although there have been concerns about the safety of the vaccine. Using a large self-reported prospective database, this a...

INTRODUCTION It has been more than 22 years since the last case of smallpox was confirmed and 20 years since the World Health Organization declared that the global eradication of smallpox had been achieved. The subsequent discontinuation of vaccination against smallpox (with vaccinia virus [VV] vaccine) has rendered most humans vulnerable to smallpox infection. The recent outbreak of monkeypox ...

Concerns about the possible release of smallpox by bioterrorists has led to policies that recommend smallpox vaccination of some health care providers, and, in the near future, the vaccine may become available to the general population on a voluntary basis. Both smallpox virus (variola virus) and the smallpox vaccine (vaccinia virus) will have a significant impact on people infected with human ...

the purpose of this study was to assess the effect of preventive immunization on the incidence of allergies in poland.18617 (53.8% female, 24.2% 6-7 years old, 25.4% 13-14 years old, 50.4% 20–44 years old) were selected by stratified cluster sampling method in 8 cities and 1 rural area. 4783 of whom underwent objective outpatient screening assessments. study subjects were evaluated for any asso...

The eradication of smallpox was defined by successive WHO expert groups (WHO Scientific Group on Smallpox Eradication, 1968 ; WHO Expert Committee on Smallpox Eradication, 1972) as "the elimination of clinical illness caused by variola virus". An important corollary of this definition was that it did not involve the extinction of variola virus, as some experts had urged . The procedures for the...

Smallpox is a viral infection caused by the Variola virus (an Orthopoxvirus) that can affect people of all ages. Smallpox is contagious and has a 30% fatality rate. The infection manifests with a fever, which precedes the development of a progressive rash that occurs all over the body starting in the mouth and on the face. The rash appears as firm, fluid-filled, and singularly dimpled bumps tha...