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Viruses 2020 May 18;12(5). Epub 2020 May 18.

Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

The re-emergence of smallpox is an increasing and legitimate concern due to advances in synthetic biology. Vaccination programs against smallpox using the vaccinia virus vaccine ceased with the eradication of smallpox and, unlike many other countries, Australia did not use mass vaccinations. However, vaccinated migrants contribute to population immunity. Read More

J Med Philos 2020 May;45(3):350-370

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, BE, and New York University, New York, USA.

Wakefield's harmful dysfunction analysis asserts that the concept of medical disorder includes a naturalistic component of dysfunction (failure of biologically designed functioning) and a value (harm) component, both of which are required for disorder attributions. Muckler and Taylor, defending a purely naturalist, value-free understanding of disorder, argue that harm is not necessary for disorder. They provide three examples of dysfunctions that, they claim, are considered disorders but are entirely harmless: mild mononucleosis, cowpox that prevents smallpox, and minor perceptual deficits. Read More

J Med Biogr 2020 May 21:967772020924520. Epub 2020 May 21.

Retired General Practitioner, Pinner, London, UK.

Lillias Hamilton trained as a doctor in London, qualified in 1890 and practiced in Calcutta and later in Afghanistan where she was the personal physician to the Amir and the only Western doctor. After six years abroad, she returned to England but owing partly to establishment prejudice was unsuccessful in setting up a London practice and eventually became the Principal of a Women's Agricultural College. Her career illustrates the aspects of medical practice abroad in the 1890s, as well as the difficulties encountered by women doctors in England even after the route to qualification in the UK had been opened. Read More

Harefuah 2020 May;159(5):320-325

Geha Mental Health Center, Clalit Health Services, and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, National Council for Suicide Prevention.

Introduction: The spread of epidemics resulting in many deaths has been known since the dawn of civilization, for example, the typhus and smallpox epidemics and the plague. Early in the previous century there was an outbreak of the Spanish Flue and towards the end of the 60's, the AIDS epidemic (HIV). Since the start of the current century, several epidemics broke out and spread to various places around the world, for instance, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), the Avian Influenza and the Swine Influenza. Read More

Uisahak 2020 Apr;29(1):311-346

Research Professor, Department of History, Ewha Womans University.

This research explores the case of the 1903 smallpox outbreak on the SS Korea , a transpacific carrier making runs between Southeast Asia, East Asia, Hawaii, and the United States. These regions were connected to a degree that no one had ever imagined through the SS Korea . Honolulu, Hawaii, was one of the most important territories in US maritime history and served as a waypoint between Asia and San Francisco on the mainland. Read More

Uisahak 2020 Apr;29(1):121-164

Assistant Professor, Department of History College of Humanities, Kyung Hee University.

In modern Shanghai, smallpox was one of the most threatening diseases with its mortality rate going up to 30 percent. In response to the disease, Dr. William Lockhart, a medical missionary of the London Missionary Society, introduced vaccination to the Chinese people in Shanghai. Read More

Vaccine 2020 May 13. Epub 2020 May 13.

Regional Head of Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response, NHS England (South West & South East), UK. Electronic address:

Smallpox eradication, coordinated by the WHO and certified 40 years ago, led to the cessation of routine smallpox vaccination in most countries. It is estimated that over 70% of the world's population is no longer protected against smallpox, and through cross-immunity, to closely related orthopox viruses such as monkeypox. Monkeypox is now a re-emerging disease. Read More

Ir J Psychol Med 2020 Apr 15:1-6. Epub 2020 Apr 15.

Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin 24, Ireland.

Objectives: This paper seeks to provide a brief overview of epidemics and pandemics in Irish history and to identify any lessons that might be useful in relation to psychiatry in the context of COVID-19.

Methods: A review of selected key reports, papers and publications related to epidemics and pandemics in Irish history was conducted.

Results: Viruses, epidemics and pandemics are recurring features of human history. Read More

Front Microbiol 2020 23;11:603. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States.

Orthopoxviruses (OPXVs) are an increasing threat to human health due to the growing population of OPXV-naive individuals after the discontinuation of routine smallpox vaccination. Antiviral drugs that are effective as postexposure treatments against variola virus (the causative agent of smallpox) or other OPXVs are critical in the event of an OPXV outbreak or exposure. The only US Food and Drug Administration-approved drug to treat smallpox, Tecovirimat (ST-246), exerts its antiviral effect by inhibiting extracellular virus (EV) formation, thereby preventing cell-cell and long-distance spread. Read More

Mil Med 2020 May 6. Epub 2020 May 6.

Biosecurity Program, The Kirby Institute, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia.

Introduction: Smallpox, caused by variola virus, was eradicated in 1980, but remains a category A bioterrorism agent. A decade ago, smallpox ranked second after anthrax in a multifactorial risk priority scoring analysis of category A bioterrorism agents. However, advances in genetic engineering and synthetic biology, including published methods for synthesizing an Orthopoxvirus, require the assumptions of this scoring for smallpox and other category A agents to be reviewed. Read More

Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2020 Jun 30;17:731-738. Epub 2020 Mar 30.

Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science and Center of Excellence for Vaccine Research, College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.

Vaccinia virus (VACV) was successfully used as a vaccine in the smallpox eradication campaign. Since then, it has been widely used in the development of vaccine and therapeutic vectors. However, methods of generating and purifying recombinant VACVs (rVACVs) are often time-consuming, cumbersome, and in some cases require specialized cell lines or equipment. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2020 Apr 27;26(8). Epub 2020 Apr 27.

In May 2019, we investigated monkeypox in a traveler from Nigeria to Singapore. The public health response included rapid identification of contacts, use of quarantine, and postexposure smallpox vaccination. No secondary cases were identified. Read More

J Bioinform Comput Biol 2020 Feb;18(1):2050012

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Canada.

Readhead recently reported in the detection and association of human herpesviruses 6A (HHV6A) and 7 (HHV7) with Alzheimer's disease by shotgun sequencing. I was skeptical of the specificity of their modified Viromescan bioinformatics method and subsequent analysis for numerous reasons. Using their supplementary data, the prevalence of variola virus, the etiological agent of the eradicated disease smallpox, can be calculated at 97. Read More

Case Rep Pediatr 2020 9;2020:8572596. Epub 2020 Apr 9.

Global Health Unit, Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.

Monkeypox (MP) is a rare zoonotic disease that most commonly transmits from bush animals to humans in the Congo Basin of Africa. However, an increase in cases of MP has been observed over the past decades with frequent outbreaks as well as export of the disease out of the African continent. MP belongs to the same genus of viruses as smallpox, the , and vaccination against smallpox gives some protection against MP. Read More

J Med Virol 2020 Apr 22. Epub 2020 Apr 22.

China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center, Qingdao, 266032, China.

The whole world has entered a terrible crisis with a huge and increasing amount of human deaths and economic loss in fighting the pandemic of COVID-19 caused by the novel coronavirus termed SARS-CoV-2. The live pathogen vaccine (LPV) strategy, which originated in ancient China for fighting smallpox, has been applied successfully in the USA military recruits for decades to control acute respiratory diseases caused by types 4 and 7 adenoviruses. This strategy has also been widely employed in veterinary medicine. Read More

Soc Sci Med 2020 Mar 25:112956. Epub 2020 Mar 25.

Department of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, University of Toronto, Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada.

More than a decade ago Singer (2009) described Gibraltar's experience with cholera and smallpox in 1865 as a syndemic. In this study, we provide a reassessment of that event and, consequently, propose a methodology to identify a syndemic at the population level. We propose that the concept of the harvesting effect from demographic studies on crisis mortality provides a useful framework for evaluating the presence of a syndemic. Read More

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2020 30;2020:3208634. Epub 2020 Mar 30.

Department of Forestry and Wood Sciences, University of Eldoret, P.O. Box 1125-30100, Eldoret, Kenya.

Traditional plant knowledge and uses of medicinal wild plants were investigated among the Marakwet community in Kenya. Data were collected through interviews with seven traditional healers and 157 questionnaires for local community members. Traditional names of the plants by traditional healers and local community members were prepared as a checklist. Read More

Hum Vaccin Immunother 2020 Apr 3:1-5. Epub 2020 Apr 3.

Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.

Vaccine hesitancy occurs throughout the world and can result in poor vaccine uptake and vaccine-preventable disease-outbreaks. Vaccine hesitancy dates back to the days of Edward Jenner and the smallpox vaccine. It persists despite the preponderance of evidence supporting vaccine safety and effectiveness. Read More

PLoS One 2020 2;15(4):e0230711. Epub 2020 Apr 2.

Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science and Center of Excellence for Vaccine Research, College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, United States of America.

Vaccinia virus (VACV) has been used extensively as the vaccine against smallpox and as a viral vector for the development of recombinant vaccines and cancer therapies. Replication-competent, non-attenuated VACVs induce strong, long-lived humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and can be effective oncolytic vectors. However, complications from uncontrolled VACV replication in vaccinees and their close contacts can be severe, particularly in individuals with predisposing conditions. Read More

R Soc Open Sci 2020 Jan 29;7(1):191187. Epub 2020 Jan 29.

Bates College, Lewiston, Maine 04240, USA.

A simple susceptible-infectious-removed epidemic model for smallpox, with birth and death rates based on historical data, produces oscillatory dynamics with remarkably accurate periodicity. Stochastic population data cause oscillations to be sustained rather than damped, and data analysis regarding the oscillations provides insights into the same set of population data. Notably, oscillations arise naturally from the model, instead of from a periodic forcing term or other exogenous mechanism that guarantees oscillation: the model has no such mechanism. Read More

N Engl J Med 2020 03;382(13):1285-1286

Bavarian Nordic, Kvistgård, Denmark

N Engl J Med 2020 03;382(13):1285

Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Hum Immunol 2020 May 21;81(5):193-194. Epub 2020 Mar 21.

Department of Inmunology and Rheumatology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia Ignacio Chavez, Mexico City, Mexico.

Huastecos or Teenek Amerindians are presently living at North East Mexico (San Luis Potosi State). They have probably one of the most ancient culture of Mexico and Central America together with Mayas and Olmec groups with which also show close relationships. Proximity to Atlantic Ocean/Mexican Gulf originated that Spaniards had very early contact with them at about 1519 CE or before. Read More

Medwave 2020 03 18;20(2):e7841. Epub 2020 Mar 18.

Facultad de Ciencias de la Rehabilitación, Universidad Andrés Bello, Chile.

This article investigates the emergence of two institutions for the control of public hygiene in Chile between 1879 and 1920: colleges of royal physicians and isolation hospitals using the case of smallpox in La Araucanía, a region located in the South of Chile. We cover the characteristics and context of these institutions that allowed the State of Chile to address the problems of public hygiene and to prompt health professionals to professionalize the practice of medicine. The liberal positivist state of the late nineteenth century understood that the issue of hygiene was not only a matter of individual responsibility but had a social, public, and environmental dimension. Read More

Virology 2020 May 13;544:55-63. Epub 2020 Feb 13.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA, 30333, USA. Electronic address:

Historic observations suggest that survivors of smallpox maintained lifelong immunity and protection to subsequent infection compared to vaccinated individuals. Although protective immunity by vaccination using a related virus (vaccinia virus (VACV) strains) was the key for smallpox eradication, it does not uniformly provide long term, or lifelong protective immunity (Heiner et al., 1971). Read More

Vaccines (Basel) 2020 Mar 11;8(1). Epub 2020 Mar 11.

The Vaccine Centre, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.

Live-attenuated vaccines (LAV) are currently contraindicated during pregnancy, given uncertain safety records for the mother-infant pair. LAV might, however, play an important role to protect them against serious emerging diseases, such as Ebola and Lassa fever. For this systematic review we searched relevant databases to identify studies published up to November 2019. Read More

Future Microbiol 2020 Apr 13;15:389-400. Epub 2020 Mar 13.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control & Employee Health, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

Brincidofovir (BCV) is a lipid conjugate of cidofovir with good oral bioavailability, enabling optimal intracellular levels of the active drug. Lower rates of nephrotoxicity and myelotoxicity make it a favorable alternative. Despite a greater safety profile among pediatric hematopoietic cell transplant recipients, the oral formulation has been associated with increased gastrointestinal toxicity in adult hematopoietic cell transplant recipients. Read More

Bull Exp Biol Med 2020 Feb 9;168(4):496-499. Epub 2020 Mar 9.

Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk region, Russia.

The results of studies of a newly isolated Serratia species K-57 strain are presented. The strain is characterized by antiviral activity towards human influenza A/Aichi/2/68/H3N2, vaccinia, mouse smallpox, and herpes simplex-2 viruses. The detected characteristics of the strain, including the data on activities on nucleolytic enzymes, recommend it for the development of therapeutic and preventive antiviral drugs. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2020 Mar;26(3):601-605

In March 2015, a patient in Colombia with HIV/AIDS was hospitalized for disseminated ulcers after milking cows that had vesicular lesions on their udders. Vaccinia virus was detected, and the case met criteria for progressive vaccinia acquired by zoonotic transmission. Adherence to an optimized antiretroviral regimen resulted in recovery. Read More

Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi 2019 Dec;40(12):1493-1498

Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China.

At the beginning of the founding of People's Republic of China, infectious diseases, such as smallpox, plague, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, measles, diphtheria, pertussis, meningitis, mumps, schistosomiasis, Kala Azar, hemorrhagic fever, leptospirosis, encephalitis B, typhus, malaria, Kala Azar, leprosy, scarlet fever and pinkeye, remained as epidemic in the country and endangered people's health. During the past 70 years, the Chinese government spent huge efforts in infectious disease prevention and treatment by promulgating and implementing series of relative policies, laws and strategies, and also encouraged all Chinese people to participate in. The achievements of these efforts in controlling infectious disease epidemic were extremely successful. Read More

Vaccine 2020 Mar 11;38(11):2600-2607. Epub 2020 Feb 11.

Bavarian Nordic A/S, Hejreskovvej 10A, DK-3490 Kvistgård, Denmark.

Traditional replicating smallpox vaccines are associated with serious safety concerns in the general population and are contraindicated in immunocompromised individuals. However, this very population remains at greatest risk for severe complications following viral infections, making vaccine prevention particularly relevant. MVA-BN was developed as a non-replicating smallpox vaccine that is potentially safer for people who are immunocompromised. Read More

Vaccine 2020 Mar 11;38(12):2741-2745. Epub 2020 Feb 11.

Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address:

The ancient technique of variolation (inoculation of the smallpox) which was introduced in the United States in 1721 was replaced by vaccination (inoculation of the cowpox) soon after the procedure was published by Edward Jenner in 1798. Benjamin Waterhouse is recognized as the introducer of smallpox vaccination in the United States having conducted the first vaccination in Boston on 8 July 1800, although other American physicians also played an important role in extending vaccination in the East Coast of the United States. A different route of introduction brought the smallpox vaccine from Mexico to New Mexico (March 1805) and Texas (April 1806) which at that time where part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Read More

Rev Esp Salud Publica 2020 Feb 13;94. Epub 2020 Feb 13.

Cátedra Balmis de Vacunología. Universidad de Alicante. Alicante. España.

The rapid diffusion of the jennerian method was founded in simplicity to practice, in its apparent effectiveness in combating smallpox and its epidemiological opportunity, as it appeared at the time of greatest recrudescence of the disease. The initial impulse for it's propagation, which originated a recognized movement to protect population health, was not without controversy. At the same time that defenders of the vaccine were added, opposite opinions appeared that used diverse critics to discredit it. Read More

Vaccines (Basel) 2020 Feb 6;8(1). Epub 2020 Feb 6.

.Hope Clinic, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, GA 30030, USA.

Background Vaccinia is known to induce antibody and cellular responses. Plasmablast, circulating follicular helper T (cT) cells, cytokine-expressing CD4 T cells, and memory B cells were compared between subcutaneous (SC) and needle-free jet injection (JI) recipients of non-replicating modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vaccine. Methods Vaccinia-naïve adults received MVA SC or by JI on Days 1 and 29. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020 Feb 4;117(7):3759-3767. Epub 2020 Feb 4.

Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892

Modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA), a widely used vaccine vector for expression of genes of unrelated pathogens, is safe, immunogenic, and can incorporate large amounts of added DNA. MVA was derived by extensively passaging the chorioallantois vaccinia virus Ankara (CVA) vaccine strain in chicken embryo fibroblasts during which numerous mutations and deletions occurred with loss of replicative ability in most mammalian cells. Restoration of the deleted C12L gene, encoding serine protease inhibitor 1, enhances replication of MVA in human MRC-5 cells but only slightly in other human cells. Read More

Lancet Infect Dis 2020 Feb;20(2):174

Viruses 2020 Jan 24;12(2). Epub 2020 Jan 24.

Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QP, UK.

Widespread vaccination programmes led to the global eradication of smallpox, which was certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and, since 1978, there has been no case of smallpox anywhere in the world. However, the viable variola virus (VARV), the causative agent of smallpox, is still kept in two maximum security laboratories in Russia and the USA. Despite the eradication of the disease smallpox, clandestine stocks of VARV may exist. Read More

Pediatrics 2020 02;145(2)

Section of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Colorado and School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado.

Children are potential victims of chemical or biological terrorism. In recent years, children have been victims of terrorist acts such as the chemical attacks (2017-2018) in Syria. Consequently, it is necessary to prepare for and respond to the needs of children after a chemical or biological attack. Read More

Vaccines (Basel) 2020 Jan 21;8(1). Epub 2020 Jan 21.

Department of Microbiology, National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA.

Live-attenuated vaccines (LAV) represent one of the most important medical innovations in human history. In the past three centuries, LAV have saved hundreds of millions of lives, and will continue to do so for many decades to come. Interestingly, the most successful LAVs, such as the smallpox vaccine, the measles vaccine, and the yellow fever vaccine, have been isolated and/or developed in a purely empirical manner without any understanding of the immunological mechanisms they trigger. Read More

AMA J Ethics 2020 01 1;22(1):E55-60. Epub 2020 Jan 1.

An editor at FrontPage Africa, a Liberian daily newspaper, as well as a science journalist and community radio reporter who covered the 2013-2016 West Africa Ebola crisis.

Journalists have long covered outbreaks of infectious disease. In the history of global health journalism-from the 1721 Boston smallpox epidemic to the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak in China and Singapore and to recent outbreaks of Ebola in West Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo-newsrooms have wielded their power both responsibly and irresponsibly. This article examines journalism practice during the 2013-2016 Ebola epidemic and recommends strategies for improving epidemic reporting. Read More

Med Hypotheses 2020 Jan 7;137:109556. Epub 2020 Jan 7.

Kupat Cholim Leumit, Sfat Emet 4, Beit Shemesh, Israel. Electronic address:

Schizophrenia is known to impair reproductive and occupational functioning, and thus, the condition would appear to be a poorly adaptive trait. In contrast to expectations, the high frequency of schizophrenia, coupled with the existence of differing but analogous high schizophrenia risk polymorphisms across the globe, suggest that high risk schizophrenia genotypes could have experienced some positive rather than negative selection pressures. Indeed, the set of cellular and tissue processes influenced by schizophrenia - including manipulations of oligodendrocyte development, complement mediated immunity, VRK2, sulfation of heparin, IL-18, availability of glutamate, and interactions with sex hormones - overlaps with the set of cellular and tissue processes affected during Vaccinia encephalitis. Read More

Med Hist 2020 01;64(1):71-93

Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK.

An expansive, worldwide smallpox eradication programme (SEP) was announced by the World Health Assembly in 1958, leading this decision-making body to instruct the World Health Organization Headquarters in Geneva to work with WHO regional offices to engage and draw in national governments to ensure success. Tabled by the Soviet Union's representative and passed by a majority vote by member states, the announcement was subject to intense diplomatic negotiations. This led to the formation, expansion and reshaping of an ambitious and complex campaign that cut across continents and countries. Read More

Med Hist 2020 01;64(1):1-31

Clinical Division, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK.

At the end of the nineteenth century, the northern port of Liverpool had become the second largest in the United Kingdom. Fast transatlantic steamers to Boston and other American ports exploited this route, increasing the risk of maritime disease epidemics. The 1901-3 epidemic in Liverpool was the last serious smallpox outbreak in Liverpool and was probably seeded from these maritime contacts, which introduced a milder form of the disease that was more difficult to trace because of its long incubation period and occurrence of undiagnosed cases. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2020 03 24;64(4). Epub 2020 Mar 24.

Unité de Virologie, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Brétigny-sur-Orge, France.

Forty years after the last endemic smallpox case, variola virus (VARV) is still considered a major threat to humans due to its possible use as a bioterrorism agent. For many years, the risk of disease reemergence was thought to solely be through deliberate misuse of VARV strains kept in clandestine laboratories. However, recent experiments using synthetic biology have proven the feasibility of recreating a poxvirus , implying that VARV could, in theory, be resurrected. Read More

Vaccine 2020 Feb 9;38(9):2266-2272. Epub 2020 Jan 9.

University of Cagliari, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cittadella Universitaria Blocco A, S. P. Monserrato, Sestu Km 0.700, 09042 Monserrato, Italy. Electronic address:

The history of Giovanni Falconi's career and his vaccination campaigns is two hundred years old. It is however very relevant today because of the widespread negative social opinion against vaccination at that time, opinions which seem to have re-emerged even in the current century. In his very important role of "Vaccine Conservator" (a sort of national supervisor for the quality of vaccinations), he clashed with the prejudice of the people and with the anti-scientific attitudes of some of his illustrious colleagues. Read More

Vaccine 2020 Feb 31;38(7):1589-1592. Epub 2019 Dec 31.

Department of Medicine, David Grant United States Air Force Medical Center, 101 Bodin Circle, Travis AFB, CA 94535, USA. Electronic address:

Following vaccinia vaccination, vesicle formation at the site occurs in 95% of primary vaccinees and is thought to indicate virus replication and vaccine efficacy. Little is known about virus replication and immune response in those who do not develop a vesicle. We used PCR to detect vaccinia in various sites following receipt of the smallpox vaccine in those with and without vesicle formation. Read More

Viruses 2019 Dec 27;12(1). Epub 2019 Dec 27.

School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

Two distinct phenomena of airborne transmission of variola virus (smallpox) were described in the pre-eradication era-direct respiratory transmission, and a unique phenomenon of transmission over greater distances, referred to as "aerial convection". We conducted an analysis of data obtained from a systematic review following the PRISMA criteria, on the long-distance transmission of smallpox. Of 8179 studies screened, 22 studies of 17 outbreaks were identified-12 had conclusive evidence of aerial convection and five had partially conclusive evidence. Read More

Vaccine 2020 Feb 20;38(7):1746-1752. Epub 2019 Dec 20.

Immunization Safety Office, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States.

Background: Since the last review of vaccine safety surveillance data for erythema multiforme (EM), Stevens Johnson syndrome (SJS), SJS/TEN, and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) (EM/SJS/TEN), over 37 new vaccines have been introduced in the United States. We sought to describe reported EM/SJS/TEN after vaccines during 1999-2017.

Methods: We identified U. Read More

J Infect Dis 2019 Dec 23. Epub 2019 Dec 23.

Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, USA.

Background: It is unclear if HIV infection results in permanent loss of T cell memory or if it impacts pre-existing antibodies to childhood vaccinations/infections.

Methods: We conducted a matched cohort study involving 50 pairs of HIV+ and HIV- women. Total memory T cell responses were measured after anti-CD3 stimulation or after vaccinia virus stimulation to measure T cells elicited after childhood smallpox vaccination. Read More

Rev Chil Pediatr 2019 Oct;90(5):545-554

Unidad de Paciente Crítico Pediátrico, Hospital Clínico Dra. Eloísa Díaz I., Santiago, Chile.

The catastrophic impact of infectious diseases on children's health, as well the transcendental and be neficial role played by the establishment and execution of health measures and immunoprevention, has been a recurrent subject in the history of medicine, although once the disease has been controlled, they are easily forgotten. In view of this, it seems necessary to recall that social scenario through an approach through painting. The pictorial works are witnesses of that since diseases are subject of representation, and at the same time, they have become an invaluable document in the history of me dicine. Read More