Originally published August 15 2005
Smallpox vaccine protects against monkey pox, researchers say
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
People infected with monkey pox had higher survival rates if they had previously received a vaccine for small pox, research shows.
Some people infected in the monkeypox outbreak in 2003 were protected by previous smallpox vaccinations, a finding that could be of a benefit in the event of a bioterror attack, a new study suggests.
This potentially could be a benefit in the event of a bioterror attack, said Slifka of Oregon Health & Science University.
While monkeypox kills about 10 percent of victims in Africa, the lack of fatalities here has been attributed to better medical care and the possibility that the strain of the disease was weaker than that in Africa.
Using a new test, researchers have found three people who were infected with monkeypox but who developed no symptoms of the illness, and five who had some symptoms but did not become severely ill, who previously tested negative or equivocal for the virus.
This shows that the outbreak was larger than was realized and, more importantly, that protection against monkeypox can continue for decades after smallpox vaccination, the team led by Slifka reported Sunday in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.
Routine smallpox vaccination was halted in 1972 in the United States, more than 20 years after the last case of smallpox in this country.
The U.S. outbreak of monkeypox provided a rare opportunity to test whether there was residual protection, Slifka said.
Buller, author of a paper on the outbreak in Virology earlier this year, said he still believes the monkeypox virus that circulated in the United States was a mild version.
The animal was not placed on the floor or furniture and yet the woman, who had no contact with the animal or infected people, came down with the disease.
They said it is the first test that can distinguish 100 percent of monkeypox infected people both from those without an infection and from people who have antibodies to smallpox from vaccination.
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