A combined smallpox and anthrax vaccine has been developed which is faster and more efficient than either individual version, and could prove to be invaluable during a bioterrorism attack. The researchers took the protective part of an anthrax vaccine, and inserted it into an existing smallpox vaccine along with an immune chemical called interleukin-15. The new vaccine was faster and more effective than current anthrax vaccine Biothrax in protecting mice and rabbits; safer in immune-deficient mice; more effective than the licensed smallpox vaccine in mice and monkeys; and can be freeze-dried and stockpiled for use in an emergency.
Research published in PNAS
