title: Smallpox vaccines for biodefense.
abstract: Few diseases can match the enormous impact that smallpox has had on mankind. Its influence can be seen in the earliest recorded histories of ancient civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia. With fatality rates up to 30%, smallpox left its survivors with extensive scarring and other serious sequelae. It is estimated that smallpox killed 500 million people in the 19th and 20th centuries. Given the ongoing concerns regarding the use of variola as a biological weapon, this review will focus on the licensed vaccines as well as current research into next-generation vaccines to protect against smallpox and other poxviruses.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Vaccine Research Group, Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Inna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ovsyannikova
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Poland
mesh_terms: D001694:Biological Warfare / Q000517:prevention & control; D054045:Biological Warfare Agents; D006801:Humans; D012899:Smallpox / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012900:Smallpox Vaccine / Q000276:immunology*; D014613:Vaccines, Attenuated / Q000276:immunology; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated / Q000276:immunology; D022223:Vaccines, Subunit / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D054045:Biological Warfare Agents; D012900:Smallpox Vaccine; D014613:Vaccines, Attenuated; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated; D022223:Vaccines, Subunit