The American Journal of Medicine
Volume 121, Issue 12 , Pages 1058-1064 , December 2008

Immunity from Smallpox Vaccine Persists for Decades: A Longitudinal Study

  • Dennis D. Taub, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Immunology and the Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging–Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Md
  • ,
  • William B. Ershler, MD

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Immunology and the Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging–Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Md
  • ,
  • Mark Janowski, MD

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Immunology and the Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging–Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Md
  • ,
  • Andrew Artz, MD

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Immunology and the Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging–Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Md
  • ,
  • Michael L. Key

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Immunology and the Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging–Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Md
  • ,
  • Julie McKelvey

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Immunology and the Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging–Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Md
  • ,
  • Denis Muller, MS

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Immunology and the Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging–Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Md
  • ,
  • Bernard Moss, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease–Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md
  • ,
  • Luigi Ferrucci, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Immunology and the Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging–Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Md
  • ,
  • Patricia L. Duffey

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Immunology and the Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging–Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Md
  • ,
  • Dan L. Longo, MD

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Immunology and the Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging–Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Md
    • Corresponding Author InformationRequests for reprints should be addressed to Dan L. Longo, MD, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, 5600 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224-6825

References 

  1. Cohen J. Bioterrorism (Smallpox vaccinations: how much protection remains?). Science. 2001;294(5544):985
  2. Frelinger JA, Garba ML. Responses to smallpox vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2002;347(9):689–690
  3. Gani R, Leach S. Transmission potential of smallpox in contemporary populations. Nature. 2001;414(6865):748–751
  4. Henderson DA. The looming threat of bioterrorism. Science. 1999;283(5406):1279–1282
  5. Henderson DA, Inglesby TV, Bartlett JG, et al. Smallpox as a biological weapon: medical and public health management (Working Group on Civilian Biodefense). JAMA. 1999;281(22):2127–2137
  6. Kaplan EH, Craft DL, Wein LM. Emergency response to a smallpox attack: the case for mass vaccination. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002;99(16):10935–10940
  7. Meltzer MI, Damon I, LeDuc JW, Millar JD. Modeling potential responses to smallpox as a bioterrorist weapon. Emerg Infect Dis. 2001;7(6):959–969
  8. Smith GL, McFadden G. Smallpox: anything to declare?. Nat Rev Immunol. 2002;2(7):521–527
  9. Shock NW, Gueulich RC, Andres R. Normal human aging: the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (NIH Publication No. 84-2450). Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health; 1984;
  10. Earl PL, Americo JL, Moss B. Development and use of a vaccinia virus neutralization assay based on flow cytometric detection of green fluorescent protein. J Virol. 2003;77(19):10684–10688
  11. Amanna IJ, Slifka MK, Crotty S. Immunity and immunological memory following smallpox vaccination. Immunol Rev. 2006;211:320–337
  12. Slifka MK. Immunological memory to viral infection. Curr Opin Immunol. 2004;16(4):443–450
  13. Bray M. New data in a 200-year investigation. Clin Infect Dis. 2004;38(1):90–91
  14. Downie AW, McCarthy K. The antibody response in man following infection with viruses of the pox group (III. Antibody response in smallpox). J Hyg (Lond). 1958;56(4):479–487
  15. Eichner M. Analysis of historical data suggests long-lasting protective effects of smallpox vaccination. Am J Epidemiol. 2003;158(8):717–723
  16. el-Ad B, Roth Y, Winder A, et al. The persistence of neutralizing antibodies after revaccination against smallpox. J Infect Dis. 1990;161(3):446–448
  17. He ZP, Dong QM, Song SJ, et al. Detection for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus RNA in stool of SARS patients. [Chinese] Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi [Chinese J Prev Med]. 2004;38(2):90–91
  18. Mack TM. Smallpox in Europe, 1950-1971. J Infect Dis. 1972;125(2):161–169
  19. McCarthy K, Downie AW, Bradley WH. The antibody response in man following infection with viruses of the pox group (II. Antibody response following vaccination). J Hyg (Lond). 1958;56(4):466–478
  20. Onishi T, Yonemura S, Sakata Y, Sugimura Y. Renal lymphoma associated with Castleman's disease. Scand J Urol Nephrol. 2004;38(1):90–91
  21. Sanchez CG, Pierin AM, Mion Junior D. Comparison of the profiles of hypertensive patients seen at the emergency department and in ambulatory care. [Portuguese] Rev Esc Enferm USP. 2004;38(1):90–98
  22. Mack TM, Noble J, Thomas DB. A prospective study of serum antibody and protection against smallpox. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1972;21(2):214–218
  23. Sarkar JK, Mitra AC, Mukherjee MK. The minimum protective level of antibodies in smallpox. Bull World Health Organ. 1975;52(3):307–311
  24. Hammarlund E, Lewis MW, Hansen SG, et al. Duration of antiviral immunity after smallpox vaccination. Nat Med. 2003;9(9):1131–1137
  25. Ennis FA, Cruz J, Demkowicz WE, et al. Primary induction of human CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes and interferon-gamma-producing T cells after smallpox vaccination. J Infect Dis. 2002;185(11):1657–1659
  26. Hsieh SM, Pan SC, Chen SY, et al. Age distribution for T cell reactivity to vaccinia virus in a healthy population. Clin Infect Dis. 2004;38(1):86–89
  27. Orr N, Forman M, Marcus H, et al. Clinical and immune responses after revaccination of israeli adults with the Lister strain of vaccinia virus. J Infect Dis. 2004;190(7):1295–1302
  28. Castle SC. Clinical relevance of age-related immune dysfunction. Clin Infect Dis. 2000;31(2):578–585
  29. Fulop T, Larbi A, Wikby A, et al. Dysregulation of T-cell function in the elderly: scientific basis and clinical implications. Drugs Aging. 2005;22(7):589–603
  30. Pinner RW, Teutsch SM, Simonsen L, et al. Trends in infectious diseases mortality in the United States. JAMA. 1996;275(3):189–193
  31. Frey SW, Couch RB, Tacket CO, et al. Clinical responses to undiluted and diluted smallpox vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2002;346(17):1265–1274

 Funding: This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health.

 Conflict of interest: None of the authors have any conflicts of interest associated with the work presented in this manuscript.

 Authorship: All authors had access to the data and played a role in writing this manuscript.

PII: S0002-9343(08)00840-1

doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2008.08.019

The American Journal of Medicine
Volume 121, Issue 12 , Pages 1058-1064 , December 2008