The origins and genomic diversity of American Civil War Era smallpox vaccine strains.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

Vaccination has transformed public health, most notably including the eradication of smallpox. Despite its profound historical importance, little is known of the origins and diversity of the viruses used in smallpox vaccination. Prior to the twentieth century, the method, source and origin of smallpox vaccinations remained unstandardised and opaque. We reconstruct and analyse viral vaccine genomes associated with smallpox vaccination from historical artefacts. Significantly, we recover viral molecules through non-destructive sampling of historical materials lacking signs of biological residues. We use the authenticated ancient genomes to reveal the evolutionary relationships of smallpox vaccination viruses within the poxviruses as a whole.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Duggan, AT; Klunk, J; Porter, AF; Dhody, AN; Hicks, R; Smith, GL; Humphreys, M; McCollum, AM; Davidson, WB; Wilkins, K; Li, Y; Burke, A; Polasky, H; Flanders, L; Poinar, D; Raphenya, AR; Lau, TTY; Alcock, B; McArthur, AG; Golding, GB; Holmes, EC; Poinar, HN

Published Date

  • July 2020

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 21 / 1

Start / End Page

  • 175 -

PubMed ID

  • 32684155

Pubmed Central ID

  • PMC7370420

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1474-760X

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 1474-7596

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1186/s13059-020-02079-z

Language

  • eng