LC16m8, a highly attenuated vaccinia virus vaccine lacking expression of the membrane protein B5R, protects monkeys from monkeypox.

ABSTRACT: The potential threat of smallpox as a bioweapon has led to the production and stockpiling of smallpox vaccine in some countries. Human monkeypox, a rare but important viral zoonosis endemic to central and western Africa, has recently emerged in the United States. Thus, even though smallpox has been eradicated, a vaccinia virus vaccine that can induce protective immunity against smallpox and monkeypox is still invaluable. The ability of the highly attenuated vaccinia virus vaccine strain LC16m8, with a mutation in the important immunogenic membrane protein B5R, to induce protective immunity against monkeypox in nonhuman primates was evaluated in comparison with the parental Lister strain. Monkeys were immunized with LC16m8 or Lister and then infected intranasally or subcutaneously with monk

SUBMITTER: Saijo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1472157 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature