Smallpox Vaccine

After an extensive worldwide eradication program, the last nonlaboratory case of smallpox occurred in 1977 in Somalia. In 1972, routine smallpox immunization was discontinued in the United States, and since 1983, vaccine production has been halted. Stockpiled vaccine has been used only for laborator...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatrics (Evanston) 2002-10, Vol.110 (4), p.841-845
Main Authors: Abramson, Jon S, Baker, Carol J, Baltimore, Robert S, Fisher, Margaret C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism - prevention & control
Bioterrorism - trends
Complications and side effects
Development and progression
Ethics, Medical
Global Health
History
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Immunization
Immunization Programs - statistics & numerical data
Mass Vaccination - statistics & numerical data
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Organizational Policy
Pediatrics
Pediatrics - standards
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Risk Factors
Smallpox
Smallpox - epidemiology
Smallpox - etiology
Smallpox - prevention & control
Smallpox vaccine
Smallpox Vaccine - administration & dosage
Smallpox Vaccine - adverse effects
Smallpox vaccines
Societies, Medical - standards
United States - epidemiology
Vaccines
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:After an extensive worldwide eradication program, the last nonlaboratory case of smallpox occurred in 1977 in Somalia. In 1972, routine smallpox immunization was discontinued in the United States, and since 1983, vaccine production has been halted. Stockpiled vaccine has been used only for laboratory researchers working on orthopoxviruses. In recent years, there has been concern that smallpox virus stocks may be in the hands of bioterrorists, and this concern has been heightened by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Because most of the population is considered to be nonimmune, there is debate as to whether smallpox immunization should be resumed. This statement reviews the current status of smallpox vaccine, the adverse effects that were associated with smallpox vaccine in the past, and the major proposals for vaccine use. The statement provides the rationale for a policy based on the so-called ring vaccination strategy recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in which cases of smallpox are rapidly identified, infected individuals are isolated, and contacts of the infected individuals as well as their contacts are immunized immediately.
ISSN:0031-4005
1098-4275
DOI:10.1542/peds.110.4.841