Preserving stocks of live variola virus may be crucial for making vaccines to protect the public against a possible future outbreak of smallpox caused by a bioterrorist attack, according to a new report from a committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM).
Although WHO has recommended that these two stocks of variola be destroyed in June, some bioterrorism experts, who believe that the virus has already been distributed to other, possibly less secure, locations in Russia say such an action would be unwise.
"The most compelling need for long-term retention of live variola virus would be for the development of antiviral agents or novel vaccines to protect against a reemergence of smallpox due to accidental or intentional release of variola virus," the report noted.
Copies of the report, Assessment of Future Scientific Needs for Live Variola Virus, will be available in early spring from the National . . . [Full Text of this Article]
