Current Research
There has been limited research on smallpox recently due to its eradication and availability in only two places in the world: the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia and the VECTOR Institute in Koltsovo, Russia. Most research is conducted by the WHO in these two research centers. There has been some significant breakthroughs by the WHO in our understanding of the Variola virus. The entire DNA sequences of 45 different strains of the Variola virus have been determined. Also, fast and reliable techniques have been created to diagnose smallpox infection. An improved version of the smallpox vaccine called ACAM 2000 has been created and it has been licensed by the FDA.
The Journal of Virology has published an article on using a smallpox vaccine on primates. Since experimenting on humans is considered unethical, scientists have experimented with primates with monkeypox, a disease very close to smallpox. They found that using a type of smallpox vaccine on the primates, they were able to cure the primates of monkeypox.
The Journal of Virology has published an article on using a smallpox vaccine on primates. Since experimenting on humans is considered unethical, scientists have experimented with primates with monkeypox, a disease very close to smallpox. They found that using a type of smallpox vaccine on the primates, they were able to cure the primates of monkeypox.