The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that, by the end
of the year, the nation will have 200 million doses of smallpox vaccine on hand
from two existing sources and two new ones. CDC spokesmen say vaccine production
is on target and that special needles are being produced to deliver the vaccine,
as well as a stockpile of doses of vaccinia immune globulin, to treat adverse
reactions in people who get adverse side effects from the injection.
Production of the smallpox vaccine was halted several years ago when the disease
was pronounced eradicated. However, after the terrorist attacks on New York
and Washington last fall, and the anthrax episodes that occurred afterward,
fear that smallpox might be used as a weapon of bioterrorism led to renewed
vaccine production.
While that program is on target, the CDC is calling for stepped-up training
of physicians to administer the vaccine and treat adverse reactions. Most younger
physicians have had no experience with the smallpox vaccine since routine vaccinations
in the U.S. were stopped in 1972. However, the vaccine can cause significant
side effects, including rare cases of inflammation of brain tissue and even
death. Physicians tend to think of the vaccine as being as safe as others used
today but it is not, one CDC spokesman said.
Meanwhile, U.S. scientists are also trying to develop a pill to treat smallpox
on the theory that it may not be possible to deliver the vaccine quickly enough
to everyone in the event of an emergency. The pill, called HDP-CDV, is being
tested with mice. It is derived from cidofovir, an injectible drug that has
been shown to kill the smallpox virus in a test tube, but has potentially serious
side effects.
The pill was developed by researchers from the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare
System and the University of California at San Diego. It is being evaluated
at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.
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