The cowpox virus, a much milder cousin of the deadly smallpox virus, can keep infected host cells from warning the immune system that they have been compromised, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. The scientists also showed that more virulent poxviruses, such as the strains of monkeypox prevalent in Central Africa, likely have the same ability. The study’s authors say the finding will help efforts to design new vaccines for use against cowpox, monkeypox and, if it ever became a concern again, smallpox. Researchers working on the next generation of poxvirus vaccines are hoping to minimize the risk of vaccination and to make the vaccines protective against a broader range of viruses.
