Martha J. Mattheis

COMPARATIVE FINDINGS IN 666 CHILDREN VACCINATED SUBCUTANEOUSLY (subc.) OR PERCUTANEOUSLY (perc.) WITH ATTENUATED CV1–78 (CV1) OR STANDARD CALF LYMPH (CL) SMALLPOX VACCINES

The present study was undertaken in an attempt to find a method to reduce smallpox immunization morbidity. Following perc. vaccination CL recipients were more likely to have a vesicular reaction (VR) than CVl recipients. In perc. vaccinees with VR and in subc. vaccinees, CL recipients more frequently developed post-vaccination neutralizing (neut.) and hemagglutination-inhibiting (HI) antibodies than CVl recipients. Six months after primary vaccination, subjects were revaccinated perc. with CL vaccine. Of 105 initial perc. CL vaccinees with VR and HI antibody, 96% had neut. antibody following revaccination; in contrast, only 69% of similar initial CVl recipients had post-revaccinetion neut. antibody. Of 107 initial subc. CL vaccinees with HI antibody, only 66% had neut. antibody following revaccination; 47% of similar subc. CVl vaccinees had post-revaccination neut. antibody. If neut. antibodies are important in resistance to smallpox, the results of this study suggest that primary subc. administration of either CL or CVl or perc. administration of CVl would be unsatisfactory alternatives to standard smallpox vaccination.