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Biosecurity Briefing
CDC Reports Vaccinia Infections among Laboratory Workers, Stresses Importance of Vaccination and Biosafety By Jennifer Nuzzo, April 25, 2008 According to an April 18, 2008, publication from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state health departments reported a total of five cases of laboratory-acquired vaccinia infection to the CDC between 2005–2007. Vaccinia (VACV) is the live virus component of the smallpox vaccine. According to the CDC report, which was published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), all five of the VACV cases occurred among laboratory workers who received needlestick injuries while working with the virus. Three of the five cases occurred among lab workers with no prior history of having been vaccinated with VACV. Although the “current Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) guidelines recommend VACV vaccination for laboratory workers who handle cultures or animals contaminated or infected with nonhighly attenuated VACV strains or other orthopoxviruses that infect humans,” the CDC notes that “some laboratory workers are hesitant to receive VACV vaccination for fear of side effects.”1 The article notes that all “five cases were reported to CDC informally in the course of seeking consultation on treatment and prevention” as “there is no national surveillance system [that] exists to track laboratory-related VACV exposures.” Consequently, the absence of information regarding the “total number of laboratories or researchers using nonhighly attenuated-VACV strains” makes it difficult to “estimate the incidence of VACV infection among at-risk laboratory workers.” However, the MMWR notes that although the total number of reported cases may be few, they underscore the need for “proper vaccination, laboratory safety, infection-control practices, and rapid medical evaluation of exposures” among those working with vaccinia and smallpox viruses. The CDC also encourages “laboratory directors and occupational health programs …to provide education regarding the risks and potential benefits of vaccination, including, for the latter, the prevention or reduction of severe complications from laboratory-acquired VACV infection.”1 References
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