smallpox vaccine


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small·pox vac·cine

vaccine of live vaccinia virus suspensions prepared from cutaneous vaccinial lesions of calves (calf lymph) or chick embryo origin; not currently used because of the worldwide elimination of smallpox.

smallpox vaccine

a vaccine prepared from dried smallpox virus. It is currently indicated only for laboratory workers and certain military personnel who could be exposed to pox viruses, but this recommendation could change with bioterrorism concerns.

small·pox vac·cine

(smawlpoks vak-sēn)
Vaccine of live vaccinia virus suspensions prepared from cutaneous vaccinial lesions of calves (calf lymph) or chick embryo origin; not currently used because of the worldwide elimination of smallpox.

smallpox vaccine

A vaccine used to provide immunity against smallpox. The vaccine is made from live vaccinia virus (not from the smallpox virus). Similarities between the two viruses make the vaccine about 95% effective in preventing smallpox in those exposed to the virus. Smallpox vaccine was not used for many years because smallpox had been eradicated worldwide. However, concerns over the use of smallpox as a biological weapon have resulted in vaccination of persons at high risk, e.g., public health workers, health care response teams, members of the armed services. The general public is not being vaccinated. The CDC recommends that persons who could be exposed to the monkeypox virus should also be vaccinated against smallpox.
See also: vaccine
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References in periodicals archive ?
According to Damaso, "The intense mixing and exchange of several smallpox vaccine samples that occurred during the 19th century has resulted in an intricate and complex evolutionary relationship involving different types of viruses and lymphs that we are still trying to understand.
Smallpox vaccine might actually have come from horses, not cows: Study
Smallpox vaccine safety is dependent on T cells and not B cells.
Smallpox vaccination of laboratory workers at US Variola Testing sites
Recommendations for using smallpox vaccine in a pre-event vaccination program: supplemental recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices (ACIP) and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC).
Newly licensed smallpox vaccine to replace old smallpox vaccine
A strong vaccinia-specific immunity confirmed the potential of Imvamune[R] as a safe and effective smallpox vaccine in this population.
Bavarian Nordic reports progress in new smallpox vaccine program
Bavarian has supplied several governments with smallpox vaccines and with its increased production capacity, able to supply the growing demand, particularly for safe smallpox vaccines.
European patent issued to Bavarian Nordic A/S on vaccine vector
Many physicians (66%) and most public safety personnel (88%) considered themselves inadequately informed on smallpox vaccine.
Pre-event willingness to receive smallpox vaccine among physicians and public safety personnel
Inger Damon, chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) pox virus group, thinks since the sample is so old, it is "highly unlikely" that the scabs will yield live smallpox, but believes the discovery could shed some light on the development of American smallpox vaccines.
Century-old smallpox scabs discovered
Another study in persons who had received smallpox vaccine in the past found they had as smaller lesions and less likelihood of fever after vaccination, compared with persons without prior vaccination.
Folliculitis common after smallpox vaccination: from papules to pustules without scarring
It continues to examine several suspected cases, including that of a 55-year-old National Guardsman who died of a heart attack five days after receiving the smallpox vaccine.
Pentagon revises smallpox vaccination policy
In recent months, 103 women in the United States either received the smallpox vaccine before they knew they were pregnant or conceived within 4 weeks after being vaccinated, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
More than 100 pregnant women exposed to smallpox vaccine. (December 2002-April 2003)
The national smallpox vaccine policy suffers from abandoning traditional public health principles, including inadequate evidence of risk of exposure given known risk and benefit of the intervention, and is just one example of the problem of dealing with the perceived threat du jour (Rosenstock 2002).
The environment as a cornerstone of public health. (Editorial)
Rival Acambis - which supplies the US with smallpox vaccine but could not bid for the new British contract - attacked the Government's procurement process in a select committee meeting yesterday as ``secretive''.
Vaccine contract turmoil revived

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