Smallpox vaccines for biodefense: need and feasibility

Authors: Artenstein, Andrew W; Grabenstein, John D

Source: Expert Review of Vaccines, Volume 7, Number 8, October 2008 , pp. 1225-1237(13)

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Abstract:

Smallpox, eradicated as a cause of natural disease through an intensive global effort in the later part of the 20th Century, has resurfaced as a possible agent of bioterrorism. For this reason, there is renewed interest in smallpox vaccines. Live vaccinia virus, an orthopoxvirus related to smallpox, has a long and successful clinical track record as an effective smallpox vaccine; however, its use is associated with uncommon yet serious adverse events. This has led to a surge of recent research into newer-generation smallpox vaccines with improved safety profiles and retained efficacy. This article will review the history of smallpox vaccines, assess the status of newer-generation vaccines and examine the overall risk-versus-benefit profile of smallpox vaccination.

Keywords: bioterrorism; myopericarditis; smallpox; smallpox vaccine; vaccine safety; vaccinia

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1586/14760584.7.8.1225

Affiliations: 1: Department of Medicine, Director, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Pathogens and Associate Professor of Medicine and Community Health, Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Department of Medicine, Memorial Hospital of RI, 111 Brewster S

Publication date: 2008-10-01

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Expert Review of Vaccines provides expert reviews on the clinical effectiveness of new vaccines. Coverage includes vaccine technology, vaccine adjuvants, prophylactic vaccines, therapeutic vaccines, AIDS vaccines and vaccines in bioterrorism.
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