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Sci Rep 2021 Jun 22;11(1):13085. Epub 2021 Jun 22.

Institut Pasteur de Bangui, Bangui, Central African Republic.

Monkeypox is an emerging infectious disease, which has a clinical presentation similar to smallpox. In the two past decades, Central Africa has seen an increase in the frequency of cases, with many monkeypox virus (MPXV) isolates detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR). To date, no complete MPXV viral genome has been published from the human cases identified in the CAR. Read More

Antiviral Res 2021 Jul 13;191:105086. Epub 2021 May 13.

Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA. Electronic address:

Decades after the eradication of smallpox and the discontinuation of routine smallpox vaccination, over half of the world's population is immunologically naïve to variola virus and other orthopoxviruses (OPXVs). Even in those previously vaccinated against smallpox, protective immunity wanes over time. As such, there is a concomitant increase in the incidence of human OPXV infections worldwide. Read More

Eur J Med Chem 2021 Oct 29;221:113485. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Department of Organic Chemistry, Samara State Technical University, 244 Molodogvardeyskaya St., Samara, Samara Region, 443100, Russia.

Currently, smallpox, caused by the variola virus belonging to the poxvirus family, has been completely eradicated according to the WHO. However, other representatives of poxviruses, such as vaccinia virus, cowpox virus, ectromelia virus, monkeypox virus, mousepox virus and others, remain in the natural environment and can infect both animals and humans. The pathogens of animal diseases, belonging to the category with a high epidemic risk, have already caused several outbreaks among humans, and can, in an unfavorable combination of circumstances, cause not only an epidemic, but also a pandemic. Read More

J Infect Dis 2021 Jun;223(11):1839-1841

JKS Bioscience Limited, Southampton, United Kingdom.

Emerg Infect Dis 2021 04;27(4)

A monkeypox outbreak in Nigeria during 2017-2020 provides an illustrative case study for emerging zoonoses. We built a statistical model to simulate declining immunity from monkeypox at 2 levels: At the individual level, we used a constant rate of decline in immunity of 1.29% per year as smallpox vaccination rates fell. Read More

J Infect Dis 2021 Jun;223(11):1870-1878

Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Background: Monkeypox is a poorly described emerging zoonosis endemic to Central and Western Africa.

Methods: Using surveillance data from Tshuapa Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo during 2011-2015, we evaluated differences in incidence, exposures, and clinical presentation of polymerase chain reaction-confirmed cases by sex and age.

Results: We report 1057 confirmed cases. Read More

Front Neurol 2021 22;12:634827. Epub 2021 Feb 22.

Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States.

The World Health Organization (WHO) monitors the spread of diseases globally and maintains a list of diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential. Currently listed diseases include Chikungunya, cholera, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Ebola virus disease, Hendra virus infection, influenza, Lassa fever, Marburg virus disease, , MERS-CoV, monkeypox, Nipah virus infection, novel coronavirus (COVID-19), plague, Rift Valley fever, SARS, smallpox, tularemia, yellow fever, and Zika virus disease. The associated pathogens are increasingly important on the global stage. Read More

Arch Pharm (Weinheim) 2021 Jun 19;354(6):e2100038. Epub 2021 Feb 19.

N. N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation.

Although the World Health Organisation had announced that smallpox was eradicated over 40 years ago, the disease and other related pathogenic poxviruses such as monkeypox remain potential bioterrorist weapons and could also re-emerge as natural infections. We have previously reported (+)-camphor and (-)-borneol derivatives with an antiviral activity against the vaccinia virus. This virus is similar to the variola virus (VARV), the causative agent of smallpox, but can be studied at BSL-2 facilities. Read More

mSphere 2021 Feb 17;6(1). Epub 2021 Feb 17.

Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

mSphere 2021 02 3;6(1). Epub 2021 Feb 3.

Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Smallpox, caused by (VARV), was eradicated in 1980; however, VARV bioterrorist threats still exist, necessitating readily available therapeutics. Current preparedness activities recognize the importance of oral antivirals and recommend therapeutics with different mechanisms of action. (MPXV) is closely related to VARV, causing a highly similar clinical human disease, and can be used as a surrogate for smallpox antiviral testing. Read More

Trop Dis Travel Med Vaccines 2021 Jan 31;7(1). Epub 2021 Jan 31.

Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

Purpose Of Review: The COVID-19 pandemic poses a major global health threat. The rapid spread was facilitated by air travel although rigorous travel bans and lockdowns were able to slow down the spread. How does COVID-19 compare with other emerging viral diseases of the past two decades?

Recent Findings: Viral outbreaks differ in many ways, such as the individuals most at risk e. Read More

J Prim Care Community Health 2021 Jan-Dec;12:2150132720987432

Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.

A "superspreader" refers to an unusually contagious organism infected with a disease. With respect to a human borne illnesses, a superspreader is someone who is more likely to infect other humans when compared to a typically infected person. The existence of human superspreaders is deeply entrenched in history; the most famous case being that of Typhoid Mary. Read More

Viruses 2020 12 30;13(1). Epub 2020 Dec 30.

Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais: Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil.

The global emergence of zoonotic viruses, including poxviruses, poses one of the greatest threats to human and animal health. Forty years after the eradication of smallpox, emerging zoonotic orthopoxviruses, such as monkeypox, cowpox, and vaccinia viruses continue to infect humans as well as wild and domestic animals. Currently, the geographical distribution of poxviruses in a broad range of hosts worldwide raises concerns regarding the possibility of outbreaks or viral dissemination to new geographical regions. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2020 Dec 7. Epub 2020 Dec 7.

Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.

Recent enhanced monkeypox (MPX) surveillance in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where MPX is endemic, has uncovered multiple cases of MPX and varicella zoster virus (VZV) coinfections. The purpose of this study was to verify if coinfections occur and to characterize the clinical nature of these cases. Clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory results were used to investigate MPX/VZV coinfections. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 11 9;10(1):19307. Epub 2020 Nov 9.

University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.

A vaccine for smallpox is no longer administered to the general public, and there is no proven, safe treatment specific to poxvirus infections, leaving people susceptible to infections by smallpox and other zoonotic Orthopoxviruses such as monkeypox. Using vaccinia virus (VACV) as a model organism for other Orthopoxviruses, CRISPR-Cas9 technology was used to target three essential genes that are conserved across the genus, including A17L, E3L, and I2L. Three individual single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) were designed per gene to facilitate redundancy in rendering the genes inactive, thereby reducing the reproduction of the virus. Read More

Viruses 2020 11 5;12(11). Epub 2020 Nov 5.

Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Biomedical Science Concentration, School of Arts and Sciences, American University of Nigeria, 98 Lamido Zubairu Way, PMB 2250 Yola, Nigeria.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by monkeypox virus (MPXV), which is a member of orthopoxvirus genus. The reemergence of MPXV in 2017 (at Bayelsa state) after 39 years of no reported case in Nigeria, and the export of travelers' monkeypox (MPX) from Nigeria to other parts of the world, in 2018 and 2019, respectively, have raised concern that MPXV may have emerged to occupy the ecological and immunological niche vacated by smallpox virus. This review X-rays the current state of knowledge pertaining the infection biology, epidemiology, and evolution of MPXV in Nigeria and worldwide, especially with regard to the human, cellular, and viral factors that modulate the virus transmission dynamics, infection, and its maintenance in nature. Read More

Vaccine 2021 05 17;39(22):3067-3080. Epub 2020 Oct 17.

Brighton Collaboration, a Program of the Task Force for Global Health, Decatur, GA, USA.

The Brighton Collaboration Viral Vector Vaccines Safety Working Group (V3SWG) was formed to evaluate the safety and characteristics of live, recombinant viral vector vaccines. The Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vector system is being explored as a platform for development of multiple vaccines. This paper reviews the molecular and biological features specifically of the MVA-BN vector system, followed by a template with details on the safety and characteristics of an MVA-BN based vaccine against Zaire ebolavirus and other filovirus strains. Read More

Bull World Health Organ 2020 09 8;98(9):638-640. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

Institut Pasteur, Emerging Diseases Epidemiology Unit, 25-28 rue du Dr. Roux, 75015 Paris, France.

PLoS One 2020 28;15(9):e0239599. Epub 2020 Sep 28.

Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America.

The harvest of bushmeat is widespread in the tropics and sub-tropics. Often in these communities, there is a dependence on bushmeat for both food security and basic income. Despite the importance of bushmeat for households worldwide, the practice raises concern for transmission of zoonotic pathogens through hunting, food preparation, and consumption. Read More

Cell Immunol 2020 11 16;357:104217. Epub 2020 Sep 16.

Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, 3755 Côte-Ste-Catherine Rd., Montreal, Quebec H3T 1E2, Canada; Department of Medicine, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, 3755 Côte-Ste-Catherine Rd., Montreal, Quebec H3T 1E2, Canada. Electronic address:

γδ T cells are unconventional lymphocytes that could play a role in bridging the innate and adaptive immune system. Upon initial exposure to an antigen, some activated T cells become memory T cells that could be reactivated upon secondary immune challenge. Recently, subsets of γδ T cells with a restricted antigen repertoire and long-term persistence have been observed after clearance of viral and bacterial infections. Read More

Australas J Dermatol 2021 Feb 8;62(1):27-36. Epub 2020 Sep 8.

Department of Dermatology, Gauhati Medical College & Hospital, Guwahati, India.

As the world tries to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, dermatologists are left in a lurch as there is a lacuna in dermatologic literature as well as training regarding the cutaneous manifestations of varied viral agents capable of causing epidemics/pandemics or the potential to be bio-weaponised. Such outbreaks have the potential to become a pandemic given this age of globalisation. The quote by George Santayana stands true 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it'. Read More

Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2021 Mar 15;19(3):331-344. Epub 2020 Sep 15.

Chief Scientific Officer, SIGA Technologies, Inc, Corvallis, OR, USA.

Introduction: Tecovirimat (TPOXX®; ST-246) was approved for the treatment of symptomatic smallpox by the USFDA in July of 2018 and has been stockpiled by the US government for use in a smallpox outbreak. While there has not been a reported case of smallpox since 1978 it is still considered a serious bioterrorism threat.

Areas Covered: A brief history of smallpox from its proposed origins as a human disease through its eradication in the late 20th century is presented. Read More

J Infect Dis 2020 Sep 3. Epub 2020 Sep 3.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Israel.

Background: The largest West African monkeypox outbreak began September 2017, in Nigeria. Four individuals traveling from Nigeria to the UK (2), Israel, and Singapore became the first human monkeypox cases exported from Africa, and a related nosocomial transmission event in the UK became the first confirmed human-to-human monkeypox transmission event outside of Africa.

Methods: Epidemiological and molecular data for exported and Nigerian cases were analyzed jointly to better understand the exportations in the temporal and geographic context of the outbreak. Read More

Infect Dis Rep 2020 07 6;12(Suppl 1):8724. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Department of Clinical Microbiology.

Background: Monkeypox is a zoonosis. The disease has a similar appearance to chickenpox caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). On May 9 2019, there was one laboratory-confirmed case of monkeypox reported in Singapore. Read More

Vaccine 2020 10 27;38(43):6800-6806. Epub 2020 Aug 27.

Medical Research Unit, School of Medicine, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Aceh 23111, Indonesia; Tropical Disease Centre, School of Medicine, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Aceh 23111, Indonesia; Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Aceh 23111, Indonesia.

Background: A clinical trial is ongoing to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a monkeypox vaccine among healthcare workers (HCWs). The critical question that needs to be addressed is whether HCWs are willing to accept and purchase this vaccine. The objective of this study was to evaluate the acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP) for the vaccine among HCWs. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 08 5;10(1):13167. Epub 2020 Aug 5.

Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, TN, USA.

Vaccination with vaccinia virus (VACV) elicits heterotypic immunity to smallpox, monkeypox, and mousepox, the mechanistic basis for which is poorly understood. It is generally assumed that heterotypic immunity arises from the presentation of a wide array of VACV-derived, CD8 T cell epitopes that share homology with other poxviruses. Herein this assumption was tested using a large panel of VACV-derived peptides presented by HLA-B*07:02 (B7. Read More

Cytotherapy 2020 11 8;22(11):642-652. Epub 2020 May 8.

Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Departments of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. Electronic address:

Background Aims: E3L is an immediate-early protein of vaccinia virus (VV) that is detected within 0.5 h of infection, potentially before the many immune evasion genes of vaccinia can exert their protective effects. E3L is highly conserved among orthopoxviruses and hence could provide important protective T-cell epitopes that should be retained in any subunit or attenuated vaccine. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2020 08 3;16(8):e1008685. Epub 2020 Aug 3.

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.

Smallpox and monkeypox pose severe threats to human health. Other orthopoxviruses are comparably virulent in their natural hosts, including ectromelia, the cause of mousepox. Disease severity is linked to an array of immunomodulatory proteins including the B22 family, which has homologs in all pathogenic orthopoxviruses but not attenuated vaccine strains. Read More

Vaccine 2020 08 30;38(38):6007-6018. Epub 2020 Jul 30.

Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6073, United States. Electronic address:

Smallpox, a contagious and deadly disease caused by variola virus, was eradicated by a strategy that included vaccination with vaccinia virus, a live-virus vaccine. Because the threat of bioterrorism with smallpox persists and infections with zoonotic poxvirus infections like monkeypox continue, and there may be a time when an alternative vaccine platform is needed, recombinant-subunit vaccine strategies for poxviruses have been pursued. Our prior work focused on understanding the immune responses generated to vaccine-formulations containing the virus protein L1. Read More