The vaccinia virus is the source of the modern smallpox vaccine, which the World Health Organization (WHO) used to eradicate smallpox in a global vaccination campaign in 1958–1977. Although smallpox no longer exists in the wild, vaccinia virus is still studied widely by scientists as a tool for gene therapy and genetic engineering.

The smallpox vaccine protects people from smallpox by helping their bodies develop immunity to smallpox. The vaccine is made from a virus called vaccinia, which is a poxvirus similar to smallpox, but less harmful. The smallpox vaccine contains live vaccinia virus, not a killed or weakened virus like many other vaccines.

Vaccinia virus is the live immunizing antigen successfully used in the global program to eradicate smallpox. This orthopoxvirus is different from cowpox virus, the agent that Jenner and others used for vaccination in the early 19th century. Vaccinia virus has been used for vaccination for more than 100 years.

Vaccinia virus (VACV) has been used more extensively for human immunization than any other vaccine. For almost two centuries, VACV was employed to provide cross-protection against variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox, until the disease was eradicated in the late 1970s.

VACCINIA VIRUS. Vaccinia virus is a big mystery in virology. It is not known whether vaccinia virus is the product of genetic recombination, or if it is a species derived from cowpox virus or variola virus by prolonged serial passage, or if it is the living representative of a now extinct virus.

Mar 4, 2025 · The vaccinia virus is a large, double-stranded DNA virus that belongs to the Poxvirus family. Poxviruses are capable of causing disease in both humans and animals, and all have a preference for infecting skin cells. Therefore, they typically cause febrile rash illnesses with characteristic skin lesions.

Various vaccinia virus (VACV) strains were applied during the smallpox vaccination campaign to eradicate the variola virus worldwide. After the eradication of smallpox, VACV gained popularity as a viral vector thanks to increasing innovations in genetic engineering and vaccine technology.

Edward Jenner (1749–l823) demonstrated that a person inoculated and infected with cowpox was protected against smallpox. The procedure, which he called vaccination, represented the first use of a vaccine in the prevention of disease. (Courtesy (more...)

Aug 23, 2023 · What is Vaccinia? Vaccinia Immune Globulin Intravenous (Human) (Vac-SIN-ee-a im-yoon GLOB-u-lin IN-tra-ve-nas) is used to treat infections caused by the vaccinia virus. Vaccinia is available only with your doctor's prescription, in the following dosage forms: Parenteral; Injection (U.S. and Canada) Before Using Vaccinia

Jan 14, 2022 · Because of its important role against smallpox, the vaccinia virus is among the most studied viruses and was heavily relied upon in the early efforts to view viruses under microscopes, grow viruses in labs, and purify, measure, and chemically describe viruses.