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Vaccinia Virus pp 1–27Cite as

Working Safely with Vaccinia Virus: Laboratory Technique and Review of Published Cases of Accidental Laboratory Infections with Poxviruses

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2023))

Abstract

Vaccinia virus, the prototype Orthopoxvirus, is widely used in the laboratory as a model system to study various aspects of viral biology and virus-host interactions, as a protein expression system, as a vaccine vector, and as an oncolytic agent. The ubiquitous use of vaccinia viruses in laboratories around the world raises certain safety concerns because the virus can be a pathogen in individuals with immunological and dermatological abnormalities, and on occasion can cause serious problems in normal hosts. This chapter reviews standard operating procedures when working with vaccinia virus and reviews published cases of accidental laboratory infections with poxviruses.

The views expressed in this chapter are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the University of Pennsylvania.

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Acknowledgment

The author is supported by the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center (recently renamed, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center) and by NIH grants R21 AI117100, R44 AI115759, and R44 AI125005.

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  1. Division of Infectious Diseases, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Stuart N. Isaacs

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Correspondence to Stuart N. Isaacs .

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  1. MRC-Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, London, UK

    Jason Mercer

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Isaacs, S.N. (2019). Working Safely with Vaccinia Virus: Laboratory Technique and Review of Published Cases of Accidental Laboratory Infections with Poxviruses. In: Mercer, J. (eds) Vaccinia Virus. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2023. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9593-6_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9593-6_1

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