Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 21, 2026
Development of an IFN-γ ELISpot Assay to Assess Varicella-Zoster Virus-specific Cell-mediated Immunity Following Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation
Published on: July 9, 2014
Determination of immunity to vaccinia virus by using diluted inactivated vaccinia vaccine solution for skin testing
Eli Somekh1, Zahava Smetana, Amir Tanay
1The Section of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology, The Edith Wolfson Medical Center, P.O. Box 5, Holon and the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. esomeh@post.tau.ac.il
Aims:
We evaluated the usefulness of skin test prepared by inactivation of vaccinia vaccine in predicting immunity to vaccinia. Skin test was injected to 77 healthy adults. Twenty had a recent smallpox vaccination (group 1). Thirty-seven were long term vacinees (group 2), while 20 subjects had never been vaccinated for smallpox (group 3).
Results:
Mean size of induration was 7.9, 5.3 and 0.4 mm for subjects from groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively (P<0.03 for difference between groups). Induration >or=5 mm correlated with neutralizing antibody titer >1:32 (r=0.73, P<0.0001).
Conclusions:
The skin test is a potentially useful tool for the assessment of immunity to vaccinia.
