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[The threat of smallpox]

Patrick Berche1

  • 1Service de microbiologie, CHU Necker-Enfants-Malades, 149, rue de Sèvres, 75015 Paris, France. berche@necker.fr

Comptes Rendus Biologies
|October 24, 2002
PubMed

Insights

Smallpox, a eradicated contagious disease, poses a severe bioterrorism threat due to its rapid aerosol spread and lack of effective treatments. Enhancing vaccine safety and prevention strategies is crucial for global security.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Context:

  • Smallpox, a highly contagious viral disease, was eradicated globally in 1977.
  • Vaccination programs were discontinued in the 1980s, leading to a population with no immunity.
  • The variola virus, responsible for smallpox, is highly adapted to humans and non-pathogenic to animals.

Purpose:

  • To highlight the significant bioterrorism threat posed by the smallpox virus.
  • To underscore the limitations of current medical countermeasures against smallpox.
  • To advocate for improved vaccine safety and revised preventive strategies.

Summary:

  • Smallpox is transmitted via aerosols and has a high fatality rate.
  • The virus's specificity to humans and lack of animal pathogenicity aided its eradication.
  • Reemergence could be devastating due to rapid spread in naive populations via air travel.

Impact:

  • The continued existence of smallpox virus stocks represents a major global security risk.
  • There are no effective antiviral treatments for smallpox.
  • Current vaccines are only effective within four days post-exposure, necessitating urgent development of new strategies.

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