Smallpox

(CIDRAP News) – A voluntary smallpox vaccination policy for the public is likely to produce an inadequate level of protection for the nation in the event of a smallpox attack, according to a recent study based on mathematical modeling.

(CIDRAP News) – In response to criticism from smallpox expert Dr. D. A. Henderson, the senior author of a recent study on smallpox immunity has defended his group's conclusion that a single smallpox shot may provide at least some protection for decades or even for life.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Health and Human Services yesterday announced $350 million in grants for eight regional centers to lead and coordinate research on defenses against bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said this week it is making $1.4 billion available to states and territories to improve their preparedness for terrorism and other public health emergencies.

(CIDRAP News) – Dr. D. A. Henderson, who led the global smallpox eradication campaign in the 1960s and 1970s, says researchers who recently reported on the duration of immunity conferred by smallpox vaccination were wrong in suggesting that immunity can last for decades or even for life.

(CIDRAP News) – Initial tests of the new cell-culture–grown smallpox vaccine now being stockpiled by the US government indicate that it may be slightly safer than the vaccine used in the current immunization program, according to a report by the vaccine's manufacturer.

Editor's note: See Aug 21 CIDRAP News story for a critique by Dr. D. A. Henderson of the report described below.

(CIDRAP News) – A study of more than 300 people who received smallpox shots suggests that the resulting immunity to smallpox may last up to 75 years, according to a report published online yesterday by Nature Medicine.

Aug 15, 2003 (CIDRAP News) – The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Smallpox Vaccination Program Implementation issued a report earlier this week recommending that members of the general public who wish to receive a smallpox vaccination do so only in a clinical trial setting.

(CIDRAP News) – As of Aug 1, the latest date for which data are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 38,062 healthcare workers and first-responders have received smallpox vaccinations through the federal program announced in late 2002. Texas has vaccinated the most, with 4,241, and Florida is next with 3,791. Some states have very few vaccinees, such as Nevada with 17, Rhode Island with 35, and Arizona with 39.

(CIDRAP News) – A report by a consulting firm for the US Department of Transportation says a major bioterrorist attack on a US seaport could cost the nation from hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars.

But spending $5 billion to $10 billion a year on biodefense measures such as devices to detect airborne pathogens could limit the damage to a "sustainable" level, according to the report by Abt Associates Inc.