smallpox virus3
Date published:

Experts determined during a recently completed hypothetical bioterrorism scenario, which imagines a smallpox outbreak originating in Fiji, that ample preparedness and response capabilities dictate whether a local outbreak is containable or more likely to become a global pandemic.

“Smallpox is spread through the air and is more than twice as infectious as influenza or Ebola. In the case of a biowarfare event, our modeling shows that without a rapid and coordinated response, the epidemic would quickly spiral out of control and become a pandemic,” said Raina MacIntyre, professor of infectious diseases epidemiology at Australia’s University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, who designed the hypothetical smallpox exercise. READ MORE

Mission statement

To reduce the immunisation gap between adults and children through research, teaching and advocacy, with a special focus on the elderly, high risk and vulnerable populations.

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Professor Raina MacIntyre

Raina MacIntyre

NHMRC Principal Research Fellow and Professor of Global Biosecurity.

+61 2 93850920

r.macintyre@unsw.edu.au

Dr Elizabeth Kpozehouen

Dr Elizabeth Kpozehouen

Research Associate

02 9385 0082

e.kpozehouen@unsw.edu.au