The Experts below are selected from a list of 318 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform

Frank Fenner - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Preventing the return of Smallpox.
    The New England journal of medicine, 2003
    Co-Authors: Joel G. Breman, Isao Arita, Frank Fenner
    Abstract:

    Each state party to this Convention undertakes never in any circumstances to develop, produce, stockpile or otherwise acquire or retain: (1) Microbial or other biological agents, or toxins whatever their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes; (2) Weapons, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict. — Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, 1972, Article 11 It is imperative and urgent that we prevent the intentional or unintentional release of variola (Smallpox) Virus into an . . .

  • Biological agents as weapons 1: Smallpox and botulism
    The Medical Journal of Australia, 2002
    Co-Authors: Michael Whitby, Alan C Street, Tilman A. Ruff, Frank Fenner
    Abstract:

    ■ Early recognition by clinicians of illnesses suggesting a biological attack is integral to the public health response. ■ The four biological agents of most concern are Smallpox Virus, botulinum toxin, and anthrax and plague bacteria. ■ Smallpox is distinguishable from chickenpox by the prominent prodromal period and lesions that develop at the same pace and, on any part of the body, appear identical to each other, evolve slowly and are peripherally distributed.

  • Biological agents as weapons 1: Smallpox and botulism
    The Medical Journal of Australia, 2002
    Co-Authors: Michael Whitby, Alan C Street, Tilman A. Ruff, Frank Fenner
    Abstract:

    ■ Early recognition by clinicians of illnesses suggesting a biological attack is integral to the public health response. ■ The four biological agents of most concern are Smallpox Virus, botulinum toxin, and anthrax and plague bacteria. ■ Smallpox is distinguishable from chickenpox by the prominent prodromal period and lesions that develop at the same pace and, on any part of the body, appear identical to each other, evolve slowly and are peripherally distributed.

  • Recent Events and Observations Pertaining to Smallpox Virus Destruction in 2002
    Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2001
    Co-Authors: D A Henderson, Frank Fenner
    Abstract:

    To destroy all remaining stocks of variola Virus on or before 31 December 2002 seems an even more compelling goal today than it did in 1999, when the 52d World Health Assembly authorized temporary retention of remaining stocks to facilitate the possible development of (1) a more attenuated, less reactogenic Smallpox vaccine and (2) an antiviral drug that could be used in treatment of patients with Smallpox. We believe the deadline established in 1999 should be adhered to, given the potential outcomes of present research. Although verification that every country will have destroyed its stock of Virus is impossible, it is reasonable to assume that the risk of a Smallpox Virus release would be diminished were the World Health Assembly to call on each country to destroy its stocks of Smallpox Virus and to state that any person, laboratory, or country found to have Virus after date x would be guilty of a crime against humanity.

Inger K. Damon - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Clinical guidance for Smallpox vaccine use in a postevent vaccination program.
    MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports, 2015
    Co-Authors: Brett W. Petersen, Inger K. Damon, Carol A Pertowski, Dana Meaney-delman, Julie T. Guarnizo, Richard H. Beigi, Kathryn M. Edwards, Margaret C. Fisher, Sharon E. Frey, Ruth Lynfield
    Abstract:

    This report outlines recommendations for the clinical use of the three Smallpox vaccines stored in the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile for persons who are exposed to Smallpox Virus or at high risk for Smallpox infection during a postevent vaccination program following an intentional or accidental release of the Virus. No absolute contraindications exist for Smallpox vaccination in a postevent setting. However, several relative contraindications exist among persons with certain medical conditions. CDC recommendations for Smallpox vaccine use were developed in consideration of the risk for Smallpox infection, risk for an adverse event following vaccination, and benefit from vaccination. Smallpox vaccines are made from live vaccinia Viruses that protect against Smallpox disease. They do not contain variola Virus, the causative agent of Smallpox. The three Smallpox vaccines stockpiled are ACAM2000, Aventis Pasteur Smallpox Vaccine (APSV), and Imvamune. Surveillance and containment activities including vaccination with replication-competent Smallpox vaccine (i.e., vaccine Viruses capable of replicating in mammalian cells such as ACAM2000 and APSV) will be the primary response strategy for achieving epidemic control. Persons exposed to Smallpox Virus are at high risk for developing and transmitting Smallpox and should be vaccinated with a replication-competent Smallpox vaccine unless severely immunodeficient. Because of a high likelihood of a poor immune response and an increased risk for adverse events, Smallpox vaccination should be avoided in persons with severe immunodeficiency who are not expected to benefit from vaccine, including bone marrow transplant recipients within 4 months of transplantation, persons infected with HIV with CD4 cell counts

  • clinical guidance for Smallpox vaccine use in a postevent vaccination program
    MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports Centers for Disease Control, 2015
    Co-Authors: Brett W. Petersen, Inger K. Damon, Carol A Pertowski, Julie T. Guarnizo, Richard H. Beigi, Kathryn M. Edwards, Margaret C. Fisher, Sharon E. Frey, Dana Meaneydelman, Ruth Lynfield
    Abstract:

    This report outlines recommendations for the clinical use of the three Smallpox vaccines stored in the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile for persons who are exposed to Smallpox Virus or at high risk for Smallpox infection during a postevent vaccination program following an intentional or accidental release of the Virus. No absolute contraindications exist for Smallpox vaccination in a postevent setting. However, several relative contraindications exist among persons with certain medical conditions. CDC recommendations for Smallpox vaccine use were developed in consideration of the risk for Smallpox infection, risk for an adverse event following vaccination, and benefit from vaccination. Smallpox vaccines are made from live vaccinia Viruses that protect against Smallpox disease. They do not contain variola Virus, the causative agent of Smallpox. The three Smallpox vaccines stockpiled are ACAM2000, Aventis Pasteur Smallpox Vaccine (APSV), and Imvamune. Surveillance and containment activities including vaccination with replication-competent Smallpox vaccine (i.e., vaccine Viruses capable of replicating in mammalian cells such as ACAM2000 and APSV) will be the primary response strategy for achieving epidemic control. Persons exposed to Smallpox Virus are at high risk for developing and transmitting Smallpox and should be vaccinated with a replication-competent Smallpox vaccine unless severely immunodeficient. Because of a high likelihood of a poor immune response and an increased risk for adverse events, Smallpox vaccination should be avoided in persons with severe immunodeficiency who are not expected to benefit from vaccine, including bone marrow transplant recipients within 4 months of transplantation, persons infected with HIV with CD4 cell counts <50 cells/mm3, and persons with severe combined immunodeficiency, complete DiGeorge syndrome, and other severely immunocompromised states requiring isolation. If antivirals are not immediately available, it is reasonable to consider the use of Imvamune in the setting of a Smallpox Virus exposure in persons with severe immunodeficiency. Persons without a known Smallpox Virus exposure might still be at high risk for developing Smallpox infection depending on the magnitude of the outbreak and the effectiveness of the public health response. Such persons will be defined by public health authorities and should be screened for relative contraindications to Smallpox vaccination. Relative contraindications include atopic dermatitis (eczema), HIV infection (CD4 cell counts of 50-199 cells/mm3), other immunocompromised states, and vaccine or vaccine-component allergies. Persons with relative contraindications should be vaccinated with Imvamune when available and authorized for use by the Food and Drug Administration. These recommendations will be updated as new data on Smallpox vaccines become available and further clinical guidance for other medical countermeasures including antivirals is developed.

  • Smallpox Virus plaque phenotypes genetic geographical and case fatality relationships
    Journal of General Virology, 2009
    Co-Authors: Victoria A. Olson, Kevin L Karem, Scott K Smith, Christine M Hughes, Inger K. Damon
    Abstract:

    Smallpox (infection with OrthopoxVirus variola) remains a feared illness more than 25 years after its eradication. Historically, case-fatality rates (CFRs) varied between outbreaks (<1 to ∼40 %), the reasons for which are incompletely understood. The extracellular enveloped Virus (EEV) form of orthopoxVirus progeny is hypothesized to disseminate infection. Investigations with the closely related OrthopoxVirus vaccinia have associated increased comet formation (EEV production) with increased mouse mortality (pathogenicity). Other vaccinia Virus genetic manipulations which affect EEV production inconsistently support this association. However, antisera against vaccinia Virus envelope protect mice from lethal challenge, further supporting a critical role for EEV in pathogenicity. Here, we show that the increased comet formation phenotypes of a diverse collection of variola Viruses associate with strain phylogeny and geographical origin, but not with increased outbreak-related CFRs; within clades, there may be an association of plaque size with CFR. The mechanisms for variola Virus pathogenicity probably involves multiple host and pathogen factors.

  • Real-Time PCR System for Detection of OrthopoxViruses and Simultaneous Identification of Smallpox Virus
    Journal of clinical microbiology, 2004
    Co-Authors: Victoria A. Olson, Inger K. Damon, Thomas Laue, Miriam Laker, I. V. Babkin, Christian Drosten, Sergei N. Shchelkunov, Matthias Niedrig, Hermann Meyer
    Abstract:

    A screening assay for real-time LightCycler (Roche Applied Science, Mannheim, Germany) PCR identification of Smallpox Virus DNA was developed and compiled in a kit system under good manufacturing practice conditions with standardized reagents. In search of a sequence region unique to Smallpox Virus, the nucleotide sequence of the 14-kDa fusion protein gene of each of 14 variola Virus isolates of the Russian World Health Organization Smallpox Virus repository was determined and compared to published sequences. PCR primers were designed to detect all Eurasian-African species of the genus OrthopoxVirus. A single nucleotide mismatch resulting in a unique amino acid substitution in Smallpox Virus was used to design a hybridization probe pair with a specific sensor probe that allows reliable differentiation of Smallpox Virus from other orthopoxViruses by melting-curve analysis. The applicability was demonstrated by successful amplification of 120 strains belonging to the orthopoxVirus species variola, vaccinia, camelpox, mousepox, cowpox, and monkeypox Virus. The melting temperatures (Tms) determined for 46 strains of variola Virus (Tms, 55.9 to 57.8°C) differed significantly (P = 0.005) from those obtained for 11 strains of vaccinia Virus (Tms, 61.7 to 62.7°C), 15 strains of monkeypox Virus (Tms, 61.9 to 62.2°C), 40 strains of cowpox Virus (Tms, 61.3 to 63.7°C), 8 strains of mousepox Virus (Tm, 61.9°C), and 8 strains of camelpox Virus (Tms, 64.0 to 65.0°C). As most of the Smallpox Virus samples were derived from infected cell cultures and tissues, Smallpox Virus DNA could be detected in a background of human DNA. By applying probit regression analysis, the analytical sensitivity was determined to be 4 copies of Smallpox Virus target DNA per sample. The DNAs of several human herpesViruses as well as poxViruses other than orthopoxViruses were not detected by this method. The assay proved to be a reliable technique for the detection of orthopoxViruses, with the advantage that it can simultaneously identify variola Virus.

Sergei N. Shchelkunov - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • How long ago did Smallpox Virus emerge?
    Archives of Virology, 2009
    Co-Authors: Sergei N. Shchelkunov
    Abstract:

    Unlike vertebrates, for which paleontological data are available, and RNA Viruses, which display a high rate of genetic variation, an objective estimate of time parameters for the molecular evolution of DNA Viruses, which display a low rate of accumulation of mutations, is a complex problem. Genomic studies of a set of Smallpox (variola) Virus (VARV) isolates demonstrated the patterns of phylogenetic relationships between geographic variants of this Virus. Using archival data on Smallpox outbreaks and the results of phylogenetic analyses of poxVirus genomes, different research teams have obtained contradictory data on the possible time point of VARV origin. I discuss the approaches used for dating of VARV evolution and adduce the arguments favoring its historically recent origin.

  • Real-Time PCR System for Detection of OrthopoxViruses and Simultaneous Identification of Smallpox Virus
    Journal of clinical microbiology, 2004
    Co-Authors: Victoria A. Olson, Inger K. Damon, Thomas Laue, Miriam Laker, I. V. Babkin, Christian Drosten, Sergei N. Shchelkunov, Matthias Niedrig, Hermann Meyer
    Abstract:

    A screening assay for real-time LightCycler (Roche Applied Science, Mannheim, Germany) PCR identification of Smallpox Virus DNA was developed and compiled in a kit system under good manufacturing practice conditions with standardized reagents. In search of a sequence region unique to Smallpox Virus, the nucleotide sequence of the 14-kDa fusion protein gene of each of 14 variola Virus isolates of the Russian World Health Organization Smallpox Virus repository was determined and compared to published sequences. PCR primers were designed to detect all Eurasian-African species of the genus OrthopoxVirus. A single nucleotide mismatch resulting in a unique amino acid substitution in Smallpox Virus was used to design a hybridization probe pair with a specific sensor probe that allows reliable differentiation of Smallpox Virus from other orthopoxViruses by melting-curve analysis. The applicability was demonstrated by successful amplification of 120 strains belonging to the orthopoxVirus species variola, vaccinia, camelpox, mousepox, cowpox, and monkeypox Virus. The melting temperatures (Tms) determined for 46 strains of variola Virus (Tms, 55.9 to 57.8°C) differed significantly (P = 0.005) from those obtained for 11 strains of vaccinia Virus (Tms, 61.7 to 62.7°C), 15 strains of monkeypox Virus (Tms, 61.9 to 62.2°C), 40 strains of cowpox Virus (Tms, 61.3 to 63.7°C), 8 strains of mousepox Virus (Tm, 61.9°C), and 8 strains of camelpox Virus (Tms, 64.0 to 65.0°C). As most of the Smallpox Virus samples were derived from infected cell cultures and tissues, Smallpox Virus DNA could be detected in a background of human DNA. By applying probit regression analysis, the analytical sensitivity was determined to be 4 copies of Smallpox Virus target DNA per sample. The DNAs of several human herpesViruses as well as poxViruses other than orthopoxViruses were not detected by this method. The assay proved to be a reliable technique for the detection of orthopoxViruses, with the advantage that it can simultaneously identify variola Virus.

Victoria A. Olson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Smallpox Virus plaque phenotypes genetic geographical and case fatality relationships
    Journal of General Virology, 2009
    Co-Authors: Victoria A. Olson, Kevin L Karem, Scott K Smith, Christine M Hughes, Inger K. Damon
    Abstract:

    Smallpox (infection with OrthopoxVirus variola) remains a feared illness more than 25 years after its eradication. Historically, case-fatality rates (CFRs) varied between outbreaks (<1 to ∼40 %), the reasons for which are incompletely understood. The extracellular enveloped Virus (EEV) form of orthopoxVirus progeny is hypothesized to disseminate infection. Investigations with the closely related OrthopoxVirus vaccinia have associated increased comet formation (EEV production) with increased mouse mortality (pathogenicity). Other vaccinia Virus genetic manipulations which affect EEV production inconsistently support this association. However, antisera against vaccinia Virus envelope protect mice from lethal challenge, further supporting a critical role for EEV in pathogenicity. Here, we show that the increased comet formation phenotypes of a diverse collection of variola Viruses associate with strain phylogeny and geographical origin, but not with increased outbreak-related CFRs; within clades, there may be an association of plaque size with CFR. The mechanisms for variola Virus pathogenicity probably involves multiple host and pathogen factors.

  • Real-Time PCR System for Detection of OrthopoxViruses and Simultaneous Identification of Smallpox Virus
    Journal of clinical microbiology, 2004
    Co-Authors: Victoria A. Olson, Inger K. Damon, Thomas Laue, Miriam Laker, I. V. Babkin, Christian Drosten, Sergei N. Shchelkunov, Matthias Niedrig, Hermann Meyer
    Abstract:

    A screening assay for real-time LightCycler (Roche Applied Science, Mannheim, Germany) PCR identification of Smallpox Virus DNA was developed and compiled in a kit system under good manufacturing practice conditions with standardized reagents. In search of a sequence region unique to Smallpox Virus, the nucleotide sequence of the 14-kDa fusion protein gene of each of 14 variola Virus isolates of the Russian World Health Organization Smallpox Virus repository was determined and compared to published sequences. PCR primers were designed to detect all Eurasian-African species of the genus OrthopoxVirus. A single nucleotide mismatch resulting in a unique amino acid substitution in Smallpox Virus was used to design a hybridization probe pair with a specific sensor probe that allows reliable differentiation of Smallpox Virus from other orthopoxViruses by melting-curve analysis. The applicability was demonstrated by successful amplification of 120 strains belonging to the orthopoxVirus species variola, vaccinia, camelpox, mousepox, cowpox, and monkeypox Virus. The melting temperatures (Tms) determined for 46 strains of variola Virus (Tms, 55.9 to 57.8°C) differed significantly (P = 0.005) from those obtained for 11 strains of vaccinia Virus (Tms, 61.7 to 62.7°C), 15 strains of monkeypox Virus (Tms, 61.9 to 62.2°C), 40 strains of cowpox Virus (Tms, 61.3 to 63.7°C), 8 strains of mousepox Virus (Tm, 61.9°C), and 8 strains of camelpox Virus (Tms, 64.0 to 65.0°C). As most of the Smallpox Virus samples were derived from infected cell cultures and tissues, Smallpox Virus DNA could be detected in a background of human DNA. By applying probit regression analysis, the analytical sensitivity was determined to be 4 copies of Smallpox Virus target DNA per sample. The DNAs of several human herpesViruses as well as poxViruses other than orthopoxViruses were not detected by this method. The assay proved to be a reliable technique for the detection of orthopoxViruses, with the advantage that it can simultaneously identify variola Virus.

Stéphane Priet - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • A novel and sensitive real-time PCR system for universal detection of poxViruses
    Scientific Reports, 2021
    Co-Authors: Léa Luciani, Lucia Inchauste, Olivier Ferraris, Rémi Charrel, Antoine Nougairède, Géraldine Piorkowski, Christophe Peyrefitte, Stéphane Bertagnoli, Xavier Lamballerie, Stéphane Priet
    Abstract:

    Success in Smallpox eradication was enabled by the absence of non-human reservoir for Smallpox Virus. However, other poxViruses with a wider host spectrum can infect humans and represent a potential health threat to humans, highlighted by a progressively increasing number of infections by (re)emerging poxViruses, requiring new improved diagnostic and epidemiological tools. We describe here a real-time PCR assay targeting a highly conserved region of the poxVirus genome, thus allowing a pan-PoxVirus detection (Chordopoxvirinae and Entomopoxvirinae). This system is specific (99.8% for vertebrate samples and 99.7% for arthropods samples), sensitive (100% for vertebrate samples and 86.3% for arthropods samples) and presents low limit of detection (