Smallpox and eczema
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 12:24 pm
I got this off the nih web site
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of
the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a five-year, $20.7
million grant to National Jewish Medical and Research Center to lead
a consortium of academic medical centers trying to make smallpox
vaccines safer for millions of people with atopic dermatitis, also
known as eczema.
"People with a history of atopic dermatitis and people who live with
them do not receive smallpox vaccines because atopic dermatitis
patients and former patients face an increased risk of developing
serious and potentially fatal reactions to the vaccine," said Donald
Leung, M.D., Ph.D. Head of the Division of Pediatric Allergy-
Clinical Immunology at National Jewish, and principal investigator
for the Clinical Studies Consortium of the Atopic Dermatitis and
Vaccinia Network. "Our consortium will seek to understand their
susceptibility and develop protocols that will allow them to be
vaccinated against this potential bioterrorist threat."
People with atopic dermatitis do not currently receive the vaccine
because they are susceptible to developing eczema vaccinatum, a
severe and potentially fatal skin disease caused by the vaccine.
People who live with atopic dermatitis patients also do not receive
vaccines because they could spread the vaccinia virus in the vaccine
to patients who might later develop eczema vaccinatum. In the past
even patients whose disease had not been active for several years
sometimes developed eczema vaccinatum after receiving a vaccine.
Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common chronic skin diseases,
an allergic condition characterized by dry red itchy skin and oozing
lesions. Lifetime prevalence of the disease is estimated to be
between 10% and 15%. Since people living with atopic dermatitis
patients also should not receive the vaccine, it is possible that
close to 40% of the population are not currently eligible to
routinely receive smallpox vaccination. Decisions about whom to
vaccinate are complicated by the fact that there are no reliable
medical tests that can definitively say if a person currently has or
has had atopic dermatitis in the past.
Individuals with atopic dermatitis who have problems with viral
infections including herpes simplex and molluscum contagiosum or a
previous reaction to the smallpox vaccine are encouraged to contact
one of these medical centers.
Does this tell us, for example, that xma is related to smallpox?
Any thoughts
Peter
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of
the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a five-year, $20.7
million grant to National Jewish Medical and Research Center to lead
a consortium of academic medical centers trying to make smallpox
vaccines safer for millions of people with atopic dermatitis, also
known as eczema.
"People with a history of atopic dermatitis and people who live with
them do not receive smallpox vaccines because atopic dermatitis
patients and former patients face an increased risk of developing
serious and potentially fatal reactions to the vaccine," said Donald
Leung, M.D., Ph.D. Head of the Division of Pediatric Allergy-
Clinical Immunology at National Jewish, and principal investigator
for the Clinical Studies Consortium of the Atopic Dermatitis and
Vaccinia Network. "Our consortium will seek to understand their
susceptibility and develop protocols that will allow them to be
vaccinated against this potential bioterrorist threat."
People with atopic dermatitis do not currently receive the vaccine
because they are susceptible to developing eczema vaccinatum, a
severe and potentially fatal skin disease caused by the vaccine.
People who live with atopic dermatitis patients also do not receive
vaccines because they could spread the vaccinia virus in the vaccine
to patients who might later develop eczema vaccinatum. In the past
even patients whose disease had not been active for several years
sometimes developed eczema vaccinatum after receiving a vaccine.
Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common chronic skin diseases,
an allergic condition characterized by dry red itchy skin and oozing
lesions. Lifetime prevalence of the disease is estimated to be
between 10% and 15%. Since people living with atopic dermatitis
patients also should not receive the vaccine, it is possible that
close to 40% of the population are not currently eligible to
routinely receive smallpox vaccination. Decisions about whom to
vaccinate are complicated by the fact that there are no reliable
medical tests that can definitively say if a person currently has or
has had atopic dermatitis in the past.
Individuals with atopic dermatitis who have problems with viral
infections including herpes simplex and molluscum contagiosum or a
previous reaction to the smallpox vaccine are encouraged to contact
one of these medical centers.
Does this tell us, for example, that xma is related to smallpox?
Any thoughts
Peter