The United States stopped vaccinating against smallpox in 1972 because the risks were judged to outweigh the benefits. The possibility of a terrorist attack using smallpox has led to renewed interest in a vaccination program. Smallpox vaccination carries considerable risks, which may be of greater concern today than in the late 1960s because of the increased prevalence of immunosuppression and ...

Smallpox has been eradicated but stockpiles of the causative infectious agent, variola virus, have been maintained over decades. Today, the threat of accidental or intentional poxvirus release is accompanied by the fact that the existing licensed smallpox vaccines cause rare but severe adverse reactions yet are the only products with approved efficacy against smallpox. New safer vaccines and ne...

I am quite aware that anybody doubting the value of vaccines and vaccination for smallpox, to which you refer in this article, is at once written down as an ignorant crank. I have, however, been studying the Registrar-General's figures and other facts relating to smallpox, and I am bound to say, so far, I cannot find anything whatever in favour of the practice. I wish you could help me to find ...

BACKGROUND Numerous literature reports describe clinical efficacy of intramuscular vaccinia immune globulin (VIG) for complications of smallpox vaccination, prophylaxis of individuals with contraindications to vaccination, and prevention of smallpox among close contacts of patients with smallpox. METHODS We reviewed the literature regarding VIG treatment and prophylaxis of smallpox vaccine co...

In June 2001, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) made recommendations for the use of smallpox (vaccinia) vaccine to protect persons working with orthopoxviruses, and to prepare for a possible bioterrorism attack and for response to an attack involving smallpox.[1] Because of the terrorist attacks in the fall of 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aske...

Concerns exist regarding reproductive health, including potential infertility, among young adults with military-related occupational exposures. This study evaluated infertility diagnoses in a large population of healthy young adults in relation to prior smallpox vaccination. Using a retrospective cohort design, the population consisted of United States military members eligible for smallpox vac...

The complete genome sequences of two strains of variola virus (VARV) sampled from human smallpox specimens present in the Czech National Museum, Prague, were recently determined, with one of the sequences estimated to date to the mid-19th century. Using molecular clock methods, the authors of this study go on to infer that the currently available strains of VARV share an older common ancestor, ...