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Source: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla...ng-168733.aspx
Virus related to smallpox rising sharply in Africa, UCLA researchers find
Monkeypox has increased 20-fold in Democractic Republic of Congo since 1980
By Mark Wheeler August 30, 2010
In the winter of 1979, the world celebrated the end of smallpox, a highly contagious and often fatal viral infection estimated to have caused between 300 and 500 million deaths during the 20th century.
The virus was eradicated through an aggressive worldwide vaccination campaign, which itself ended in 1980. After all, with no virus, there was no longer a need for a vaccine. Now, researchers at UCLA say the elimination of the smallpox vaccine has allowed a related virus to thrive.
In the current online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Anne Rimoin, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health, and colleagues report that 30 years after the mass smallpox vaccination campaign ceased, rates of a related virus known as human monkeypox have increased dramatically in the rural Democratic Republic of Congo, with sporadic outbreaks in other African nations and even the United States....
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Source: http://www.latimes.com/health/booste...tory?track=rss
Stopping smallpox vaccinations has cleared the way for the emergence of monkeypox in Africa
August 30, 2010|1:41 p.m.
It was 30 years ago this year that the last smallpox vaccination was given worldwide, after the disease had officially been declared eradicated. But the elimination of smallpox vaccinations has, ironically, led to the emergence of a related--albeit less infectious--disease known as monkeypox. New findings reported Monday indicate that the prevalence of monkeypox infections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has increased 20-fold since the halt of the smallpox vaccination campaign.
The monkeypox virus was first identified in the 1950s and the first confirmed human case was reported in the early 1970s. It got its name because it was first seen in laboratory monkeys, but its primary reservoirs in the wild are thought to be squirrels and other rodents. The symptoms of a monkeypox infection are similar to those of smallpox, with the most distinctive being lesions or pox on the skin. The virus is thought to kill 1% to 10% of those it infects, and there is no treatment. The vaccinia vaccine used to prevent smallpox is estimated to protect against 80% to 85% of monkeypox infections because of the close similarity of the viruses....
Virus related to smallpox rising sharply in Africa, UCLA researchers find
Monkeypox has increased 20-fold in Democractic Republic of Congo since 1980
By Mark Wheeler August 30, 2010
In the winter of 1979, the world celebrated the end of smallpox, a highly contagious and often fatal viral infection estimated to have caused between 300 and 500 million deaths during the 20th century.
The virus was eradicated through an aggressive worldwide vaccination campaign, which itself ended in 1980. After all, with no virus, there was no longer a need for a vaccine. Now, researchers at UCLA say the elimination of the smallpox vaccine has allowed a related virus to thrive.
In the current online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Anne Rimoin, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health, and colleagues report that 30 years after the mass smallpox vaccination campaign ceased, rates of a related virus known as human monkeypox have increased dramatically in the rural Democratic Republic of Congo, with sporadic outbreaks in other African nations and even the United States....
******************
Source: http://www.latimes.com/health/booste...tory?track=rss
Stopping smallpox vaccinations has cleared the way for the emergence of monkeypox in Africa
August 30, 2010|1:41 p.m.
It was 30 years ago this year that the last smallpox vaccination was given worldwide, after the disease had officially been declared eradicated. But the elimination of smallpox vaccinations has, ironically, led to the emergence of a related--albeit less infectious--disease known as monkeypox. New findings reported Monday indicate that the prevalence of monkeypox infections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has increased 20-fold since the halt of the smallpox vaccination campaign.
The monkeypox virus was first identified in the 1950s and the first confirmed human case was reported in the early 1970s. It got its name because it was first seen in laboratory monkeys, but its primary reservoirs in the wild are thought to be squirrels and other rodents. The symptoms of a monkeypox infection are similar to those of smallpox, with the most distinctive being lesions or pox on the skin. The virus is thought to kill 1% to 10% of those it infects, and there is no treatment. The vaccinia vaccine used to prevent smallpox is estimated to protect against 80% to 85% of monkeypox infections because of the close similarity of the viruses....
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