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The article discusses how researchers and public health officials in Africa are intensifying their efforts to combat mpox, a neglected infectious disease that gained global attention in 2022 due to rapid spread in Europe and North America, mainly through sexual transmission. Topics include the alarming rise in cases in Africa, the sexual transmission of mpox, and the risk of a new strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) triggering another global outbreak.

The article focuses on monkeypox stokes that creates fear in a pandemic-weary world. Topics include considered that global outbreak of monkeypox, which causes smallpox like skin lesions but is not usually fatal, surfaced on May 7, 2022 in the United Kingdom and several suspected and confirmed cases had been reported as Science went to press, from every continent other than Antarctica.

The article discusses about the mystery behind of Sputnik V, vaccine for COVID-19 that was administered on Russian President Vladimir Putin. It further discusses that Russia's second COVID-19 vaccine, EpiVacCorona is also bringing controversy. It is developed by VECTOR, that studies bioweapons and now is one of the global repositories of the eradicated smallpox virus.

The article discusses prospects for eradicating major diseases on Earth and factors that apply to doing so. A meeting of scientists involved in eradicating smallpox is noted along with the commentary of some that they would have expected other diseases to be eradicated by now by younger scientists. In the absence of such eradications, the money required to devote to such efforts is said to be in question. A follow-up meeting of scientists reportedly focused on 21st century planning for disease eradication. Aspects of launched attempts to eradicate guinea worm disease and polio are discussed. INSET: Scientists' New Eradication Target: A Word in Their Lexicon.

The article discusses about Rinderpest, a kind of an animal disease that has infected cattles and other animals as well as, their human keepers. According to the article, rinderpest maybe the second viral disease that may be wiped out in the planet next to small pox which was announced as officially vanquished in the year 1979. Rinderpest is said to attack the lymph nodes and the epithelium of the alimentary, respiratory and urogenital tracts. It spreads through droplets of the breath and excretions that are infected coming from a sick animal.

During transmission of seasonal endemic diseases such as measles and influenza, spatial waves of infection have been observed between large distant populations. Also, during the initial stages of an outbreak of a new or reemerging pathogen, disease incidence tends to occur in spatial clusters, which makes containment possible if you can predict the subsequent spread of disease. Spatial models are being used with increasing frequency to help characterize these large-scale patterns and to evaluate the impact of interventions. Here, I review several recent studies on four diseases that show the benefits of different methodologies: measles (patch models), foot-and-mouth disease (distance-transmission models), pandemic influenza (multigroup models), and smallpox (network models). This review highlights the importance of the household in spatial studies of human diseases, such as smallpox and influenza. It also demonstrates the need to develop a simple model of household demographics, so that these large-scale models can be extended to the investigation of long-time scale human pathogens, such as tuberculosis and HIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs on a study conducted by Mühlemann et al., repoting identification of variola virus in archaeological remains from the Viking Age that reveals new information about the origin of variola virus and its evolution in human populations. It mentions that evolutionarily successful viruses replicate and transmit without causing host pathology.

Comparative genomics of 45 epidemiologically varied variola virus isolates from the past 30 years of the smallpox era indicate low sequence diversity, suggesting that there is probably little difference in the isolates' functional gene content. Phylogenetic clustering inferred three clades coincident with their geographical origin and case-fatality rate; the latter implicated putative proteins that mediate viral virulence differences. Analysis of the viral linear DNA genome suggests that its evolution involved direct descent and DNA end-region recombination events. Knowing the sequences will help understand the viral proteome and improve diagnostic test precision, therapeutics, and systems for their assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the vaccination policy for the smallpox by the U.S. government to fight against the bioterrorist attacks. People who will be vaccinated for the disease; Reaction of the public health community; Eruption of the smallpox attacks.

The need for a planned response to a deliberate introduction of smallpox has recently become urgent. We constructed a stochastic simulator of the spread of smallpox in structured communities to compare the effectiveness of mass vaccination versus targeted vaccination of close contacts of cases. Mass vaccination before smallpox introduction or immediately after the first cases was more effective than targeted vaccination in preventing and containing epidemics if there was no prior herd immunity (that is, no prior immunologic protection within the population). The effectiveness of postrelease targeted and mass vaccinations increased if we assumed that there was residual immunity in adults vaccinated before 1972, but the effectiveness of targeted vaccination increased more than that of mass vaccination. Under all scenarios, targeted vaccination prevented more cases per dose of vaccine than did mass vaccination. Although further research with larger-scale structured models is needed, our results suggest that increasing herd immunity, perhaps with a combination of preemptive voluntary vaccination and vaccination of first responders, could enhance the effectiveness of postattack intervention. It could also help targeted vaccination be more competitive with mass vaccination at both preventing and containing a deliberate introduction of smallpox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the fears of health organization on the resurrection of smallpox virus in relation to bioterrorism. Physical description of the VECTOR in Russia; Mortality rate caused by the virus; Repository of the virus at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Effort of researchers to development a vaccine against the virus.

The article informs on a research on identification of variola virus in archaeological remains from the Viking Age that reveals new information about the origin of variola virus and its evolution in human populations. It mentions that evolutionarily sucnumber of functional genes is generally reduced in orthopoxviruses with narrow host ranges. It also mentions that ancient virus sequences recovered from archaeological remains provide direct molecular evidence of past infections.

Speed coronavirus vaccine testing by deliberately infecting volunteers? Racing for a COVID-19 vaccine PHOTO (COLOR) With record-setting speed, vaccinemakers take their first shots at the new coronavirus PHOTO (COLOR) The $1 billion bet: Pharma giant and U.S. government team up in all-out coronavirus vaccine p... PHOTO (COLOR) Can you put a price on COVID-19 options? Myron Levine, a vaccine researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who has conducted challenge experiments for more than 40 years, doubts traditional clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine candidates will be as slow as some fear. [Extracted from the article]

Discusses ways to combat the threat of smallpox in the event of bioterrorism. Analysis of target vaccination and mass vaccination situations; Issues related to pre-event vaccination; Solution to lack of data on smallpox outbreaks.

Reports the efforts of the government to combat the smallpox attack in the U.S. Accounts on the smallpox outbreak; Side effects of the smallpox vaccine; Review of the government on the policy on smallpox vaccination.

The article discusses the synthetic biology concerns raised by a study led by virologist David Evans in which horsepox virus was synthesized from DNA fragments ordered online and delivered by mail. Topics include virologist Gerd Sutter's suggestion about the possibility of using the same strategy with the smallpox virus, the criticism of the study by biodefense expert Gregory Koblentz and the argument of bioethicist Nicholas Evans about the implication of synthesizing smallpox-related viruses.

The article discusses the U.S. Drug Food and Administration's (FDA's) approval of the drug to treat smallpox known as TPOXX, developed by the company SIGA Technologies Incorporated.

The article reports that developing vaccines against potential bioweapons such as smallpox and Marburg virus is a tough ask for small biotech companies. In 2004, the U.S. government started the BioShield project to encourage companies to conduct more research on the subject. AlphaVax Inc., a North Carolina biotech company, has already received $26 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore how it can produce vaccines against various biothreats. Drug development is a tough ask and developing biodefense measures is even more difficult. The 10-year Project BioShield is meant to build on the $ 1.7-billion-a-year investment in basic biodefense research by NIH'S National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Biotech companies often struggle to attract the investor funding that is needed to get a product ready for the BioShield program.

The article reports that by adding a last-minute amendment to a massive intelligence reform bill, Representative Pete Sessions has made it illegal for most U.S. researchers to synthesize the smallpox virus, variola, from scratch. Some virologists said that the law is ambiguous on what exactly is banned, and it could be interpreted to include some research on closely related poxviruses. By international agreement, only two labs in the world, one in Russia and one in the United States, can store and study variola.

The article presents a report on the World Health Organization (WHO) advisory committee, which has given its blessing to limited genetic manipulation of the smallpox virus. If the recommendation is accepted by WHO director-general Jong-wook Lee and the World Health Assembly next year, it would mark the first time since smallpox was eradicated that scientists would be allowed to genetically modify the virus. Once smallpox was wiped out in 1979, the known remaining viral stocks were transferred to two high-security labs at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, and later the VECTOR research center in Koltsovo, Russia.

If the assault on polio's remaining strongholds is successful, poliovirus will no longer be circulating. When the polio eradication program was hatched in 1988, it sounded straightforward enough, halt transmission of the wild virus, probably destroy cultures of the virus, and then stop vaccinating. Other tough issues include how to be sure the virus is really gone. For smallpox, the only disease eradicated to date, surveillance was relatively simple, infection causes a visible rash that even an untrained villager could detect. By contrast, polio can circulate invisibly without causing disease or symptoms, diagnosed only with a lab analysis.

An infectious disease researcher-turned-entrepreneur has used strong scientific credentials, an aversion to risk, a stroke of luck, and enviable connections to turn a company on the verge of collapse into a profitable producer of biodefense vaccines. OraVax Inc., the company Thomas Monath, had struggled to build since 1992, was running out of money after its potential blockbuster drug for respiratory infections flunked a key clinical trial. By October 1998, the price of OraVax stock had dropped to a pitiful 25 cents; a few weeks later, NASDAQ delisted the company. Peptide Therapeutics Group, equally unlucky in business but with more in the bank, bought OraVax for a mere $20 million. Rechristened Acambis, the new company went on to become the first big winner in the biodefense bonanza inspired by September 11, terrorist attack.

The U.S. President George W. Bush Administration's ambitious plan to vaccinate between 5 million and 10 million citizens against smallpox has failed. Fewer than 35,000 people have received the vaccine and many states have halted vaccination waiting further guidance from the federal government. At a meeting of an Institute of Medicine panel, several state and local health officials sharply criticized the campaign and urged the government to cancel its small pox vaccination second phase, which has begun in only one state, Florida. The Administration spent months deliberating the magnitude of the preparedness campaign, unveiled on 13 December 2002. Up to 437,000 medical personnel expected to help contain an outbreak would be vaccinated within a month, starting in late January 2003, top Administration officials said at the time, followed by another 5 million to 10 million other medical personnel, law enforcement agents, and firefighters in the next few months. Separately, the Department of Defense revealed a plan to immunize about half a million armed services members. With 422,000 military personnel vaccinated, the latter goal is almost reached, says John Grabenstein, deputy director for military vaccines for the Army's surgeon general. Many expressed concern because even the modest first phase has drained resources and time from other public health programs.

Focuses on France's denial to allegations that it possesses samples of the small pox virus that had been eradicated in the year 1980. Other for the eradication of the virus; Confirmation of the allegations by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Focuses on the controversies over the smallpox outbreak as a bioweapon in the U.S. Views of physician Alan Zelicoff on the use of smallpox strains; Necessity of creating drugs and vaccines against smallpox strains; Aims of the worldwide smallpox eradication campaign.

Reports the agreement of the governing board of the World Health Organization to delay destruction of the last known samples of smallpox in Russia and the United States. Preference for an open-ended research program; Speculation on the setting of a deadline to destroy the stocks; Development of an animal model for smallpox.

Reports developments related to science as of November 2001. Preparation for the upgrading of the Web site to improve communication and contacts by Northern Exposure South Korean researchers; Debates on the plan destruction of the remaining smallpox samples; Argument on the use of smallpox samples to develop animal models of diseases.

Reports of the decision of United States President Bill Clinton that samples of the variola virus, or the cause of smallpox, should not be destroyed. Hope of health officials that it would be the first human pathogen purged from the earth; Other countries that are in agreement with the US; Reasons for the decision, including medical research; Stance of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva.

The article reports that vials containing samples of the smallpox virus were discovered in storage at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and will be transferred to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The article presents information on neglected tropical diseases. Topics discussed include eradication of yaws by oral antibiotic, and the end of the only one human pathogen called smallpox. Also discussed are the outcomes of yaws including weepin skin ulcers on various body parts like face, back, and buttocks.

The article reports that the World Health Assembly (WHA) decided to not set a deadline for the destruction of the last samples of the smallpox virus.

The article discusses stocks of smallpox virus maintained by laboratories in Russia and the U.S. and debate within the World Health Assembly (WHA), the governing body of the World Health Organization (WHO), on setting a deadline for destruction of those virus stocks. A deadline for doing so that was set by WHO in 1990 is said to have been postponed because of desires expressed in Russia and the U.S. to continue research on smallpox.

An interview with Larry Brilliant, who will manage the Skoll Urgent Threats Fund, is presented. He explains that the fund will be used to prevent or mitigate catastrophic threats. He says that advocacy and grantmaking will be used to meet these goals. Brilliant also explains that funds will be granted for innovative research and mentions smallpox eradication and water distribution in areas of drought as examples.

The article provides information on geospatial models of infectious disease. Effects of patches, distance transmission, multigroups, and networks are analyzed by the models. It is stated that key results have been reviewed on infections such as measles, foot-and-mouth, influenza, and smallpox, within this framework. The significance of the epidemiological insights generated by these models are also illustrated.

This article reports that two advocacy groups have launched a campaign to halt new studies on variola, the virus that causes smallpox. The Sunshine Project in Austin, Texas, and the Third World Network, headquartered in Penang, Malaysia, are urging the World Health Assembly, the supreme body of the World Health Organization (WHO), to ignore an expert panel and set a firm deadline for the destruction of the two remaining stocks during its annual meeting in Geneva in May. In November, WHO's Advisory Committee on Variola Research recommended that work on variola continue and that researchers be allowed to insert a marker gene into the virus to facilitate drug discovery and to exchange genes of the variola genome and splice them into other poxviruses to study their function. On a new Web site in six languages, the two groups claim that the work could lead to accidental releases of the agent or to the creation of even more dangerous viruses.

The article presents information on a scientific open letter from scientists in the microbiology community. The letter argues that biodefense research efforts have diverted resources from nonbiodefense research at National Institute of Health (NIH). The letter focuses only on support for research on the agents that cause tularemia, anthrax, plague, glanders, melioidosis, and brucellosis. NIAID biodefense funding is used to support research on a much broader list of more than 50 pathogens, which include traditional biodefense pathogens, such as those that cause anthrax and smallpox, as well as newly emerging infectious agents such as the SARS coronavirus and pathogens that cause diseases that affect people around the world on a daily basis.

This article focuses on various awards related to scientific research. Epidemiologist William H. Foege, a veteran of the campaign to wipe out smallpox has been awarded the National Academy of Sciences' highest honor, the Public Welfare Medal. Foege's work on smallpox eradication in Africa in the 1960s led to the successful ring vaccination strategy of inoculating close contacts of infected people. Princeton University's James Gunn and James Peebles and Cambridge University's Martin Rees will share the 2005 Crafoord Prize, awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for work on how the universe evolved from a smooth primordial soup of particles and radiation into the present cacophony of galaxies and clusters.

The article reports on former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's views on a simulated global smallpox outbreak arranged by the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The exercise, called Atlantic Storm, found that some European nations did not have adequate vaccine supplies to counter a terrorist attack by an Al Qaeda splinter group on Istanbul, Frankfurt, and Rotterdam. Albright warned that the U.S. public might resist attempts to share the U.S. stockpile with European countries that had opposed the war in Iraq.