Smallpox vaccination of civilian volunteer health-care workers began on January 24, 2003. As of February 4, a total of 37 states and counties have received shipments of smallpox vaccine, and 18 states and counties have begun smallpox vaccination; no serious adverse events have been reported. To monitor the occurrence of adverse events associated with vaccination, both those expected on the basi...

Smallpox posed a significant epidemiological threat in the early modern period. The eradication of smallpox 20th century was preceded by numerous medical discoveries, such as vaccination. Even before that, so-called variolation, i.e. an older and riskier form protection, had spread Europe after being imported from East 1720s. This text explains how Europeans fought even variolation introduced. ...

The mode of infection transmission has profound implications for effective containment by public health interventions. The mode of smallpox transmission was never conclusively established. Although, "respiratory droplet" transmission was generally regarded as the primary mode of transmission, the relative importance of large ballistic droplets and fine particle aerosols that remain suspended in...

Seasonal variation in smallpox transmission is one of the most pressing ecological questions and is relevant to bioterrorism preparedness. The present study reanalyzed 7 historical datasets which recorded monthly cases or deaths. In addition to time series analyses of reported data, an estimation and spectral analysis of the effective reproduction number at calendar time t, R(t), were made. Met...

The aim of this paper is to discuss some actions that made possible the eradication of smallpox in Brazil, considering the main contexts and policies adopted for the disease between 1920 and 1970, assuming as contrast educational measures in the field of health and establishing a discussion on the educational content of the programs adopted. It can be observed that, during this period, the sett...

New stockpiles of smallpox vaccine are required as a contingency for protecting civilian and military personnel against deliberate dissemination of smallpox virus by terrorists or unfriendly governments. The smallpox vaccine in the current stockpile consists of a live animal poxvirus (Vaccinia virus [VACV]) that was grown on the skin of calves. Because of potential issues with controlling this ...

News Q: How did you become interested in immunization? A: After I got my MD degree in 1966, I worked at a health centre in a small town in the Amazon region, then studied epidemiology and got involved in a new national centre for epidemiology , a kind of " Brazilian CDC " (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). But the centre never took off because people working there were accused of bei...

Naturally occurring smallpox has been eradicated but remains a considerable threat as a biowarfare/bioterrorist weapon (F. Fleck, Bull. World Health Organ. 81:917-918, 2003). While effective, the smallpox vaccine is currently not recommended for routine use in the general public due to safety concerns (http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/vaccination). Safe and effective countermeasures, partic...