Smallpox is an extremely contagious infection caused
by the Variola virus for which there is no known cure. Symptoms include fever,
malaise, abdominal and severe back pain. The last known natural case occurred
in Somalia in 1977 and due to worldwide vaccination programs, this disease has
been completely eradicated. By 1980 the WHO declared that smallpox had
completely been eradicated although government and health agencies still have
stashes of smallpox virus for research purposes. Nowadays people no longer
receive routine smallpox vaccinations as they can have potentially fatal side
effects, so only the people that face a high risk of exposure get the vaccine.
According to the study, ‘Smallpox –
Pipeline Review, H2 2018’, researchers are still carrying out
studies on smallpox and its treatments. Since smallpox virus is deadly and contagious
the research projects are carried out under extreme authorization. The US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with the Russian State Centre
for Research on Virology and Biotechnology are the only two labs in the world
approved and known to have smallpox virus. Recently the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approved the first drug to treat smallpox.
This comes as there is a growing concern that the
small pox virus may be used in bioterror attacks by terrorists or by people
with criminal intentions. This is the main reason why the FDA gave priority
review to TPOXX, asmall-molecule antiviral treatment made by the US based SIGA
Technologies Inc. and approval was based on research treating animals infected
with viruses that were closely related to the virus causing smallpox. Out of
the animals tested, less thanone-tenth died compared to the one-third fatality
rate among humans who got infected and did not consume the drug. Until now,
smallpox treatment consisted of managing symptoms and treatment with three
antivirals that are not proven to treat the disease but have been the best
potential line of defense. In addition, the vaccine would be used to prevent
the disease from spreading. TPOXX is the first approved treatment specifically
initiated for the treatment of this virus.
Investigators in the Department of Molecular Virology
and Microbiology (MVM), at the Baylor College of Medicine in the US, have
received funding from several sources to study the immune responses to the
smallpox virus and for vaccine development studies. This shows that authorities
around the world are still concerned about this disease. MVM scientists have
also investigated the vulnerability of the general population to smallpox and
found that the discontinuation of the smallpox vaccination program in the early
1970s has reduced immunity to the variola virus in the general population. In
another project MVM researchers have applied a new technology to identify the
vaccinia virus antigens that are responsible for the anti-smallpox humoral and
immunity that grants protection against smallpox infection.
The technology used is called the TAP
(Transcriptionally Active PCR) Express TM system and is a tool that allows
thousands of antigen genes to be individually amplified so that their
biological function or DNA vaccine immunological potency can be quickly
analyzed. The goal of this work has been to identify antigens that would be
candidates for use in developing new smallpox vaccines.Also, a team led by the
virologists of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada are trying to
recreate Variola, the small pox causing virus in order to better understand it.
All around the world there is growing concern regarding the potentially
destructive uses of the smallpox virus. Research institutions, mainly from the
US, are constantly trying to develop new drugs and vaccines to combat smallpox.
Certain educational institutions are also assisting in the process besides
Canadian contributions.
For more information on the research report, refer to below
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