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. 2024 Jun;96(6):e29728.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.29728.

Evaluation of monkeypox- and vaccinia-virus neutralizing antibodies before and after smallpox vaccination: A sero-epidemiological study

Serena Marchi  1 , Giulia Piccini  2 , Paolo Cantaloni  2   3 , Noemi Guerrini  2   3 , Roberta Zannella  2 , Rosa Coluccio  2 , Linda Benincasa  2 , Niccolò Solfanelli  2 , Edmond J Remarque  4 , Simonetta Viviani  1 , Otfried Kistner  2 , Nigel Temperton  5 , Emanuele Montomoli  1   2   6 , Alessandro Manenti  2 , Claudia Maria Trombetta  1   6
Affiliations

Evaluation of monkeypox- and vaccinia-virus neutralizing antibodies before and after smallpox vaccination: A sero-epidemiological study

Serena Marchi et al. J Med Virol. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

Since May 2022, several countries outside of Africa experienced multiple clusters of monkeypox virus (MPXV)-associated disease. In the present study, anti-MPXV and anti-vaccinia virus (VACV) neutralizing antibody responses were evaluated in two cohorts of subjects from the general Italian population (one half born before the WHO-recommended end of smallpox vaccination in 1980, the other half born after). Higher titers (either against MPXV or VACV) were observed in the cohort of individuals born before the interruption of VACV vaccination. An association between VACV and MPXV antibody levels was observed, suggesting that the smallpox vaccination may confer some degree of cross-protection against MPXV infection. Results from this study highlight low levels of immunity toward the assessed Orthopoxviruses, especially in young adults, advocating the introduction of a VACV- or MPXV-specific vaccine in case of resurgence of monkeypox disease outbreaks.

Keywords: humoral immunity; monkeypox virus; neutralization; vaccinia virus.

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