WHO Advisory Committee on Variola Virus Research: report of the twenty-fifth meeting, Geneva, Switzerland, 25-26 October 2023
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World Health Organization
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vi, 56 p.
The WHO Advisory Committee on Variola Virus Research (ACVVR) held its twenty-fifth meeting in October 2023 to review progress in WHO-approved research involving live variola virus, assess proposals for future work, and provide recommendations ahead of the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly. This report summarizes activities undertaken by the WHO collaborating centres at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the VECTOR State Research Center in the Russian Federation, including management of variola virus repositories, genome sequencing efforts, and research supporting the development of medical countermeasures against smallpox. The report reviews advances in antiviral agents, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and diagnostic technologies, as well as lessons learned from the global mpox outbreak. It highlights the licensing and evaluation of new therapeutics and vaccines, ongoing studies of orthopoxvirus immunity, and efforts to improve rapid and point-of-care diagnostics. The Committee noted that key objectives of the variola virus research programme have largely been achieved through the availability of multiple antivirals and newer-generation vaccines. At the same time, findings from the mpox outbreak underscored the continuing importance of research to address antiviral resistance, strengthen diagnostic capacity, support preparedness for orthopoxvirus outbreaks, and maintain effective global countermeasure reserves.
The WHO Advisory Committee on Variola Virus Research (ACVVR) held its twenty-fifth meeting in October 2023 to review progress in WHO-approved research involving live variola virus, assess proposals for future work, and provide recommendations ahead of the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly. This report summarizes activities undertaken by the WHO collaborating centres at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the VECTOR State Research Center in the Russian Federation, including management of variola virus repositories, genome sequencing efforts, and research supporting the development of medical countermeasures against smallpox. The report reviews advances in antiviral agents, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and diagnostic technologies, as well as lessons learned from the global mpox outbreak. It highlights the licensing and evaluation of new therapeutics and vaccines, ongoing studies of orthopoxvirus immunity, and efforts to improve rapid and point-of-care diagnostics. The Committee noted that key objectives of the variola virus research programme have largely been achieved through the availability of multiple antivirals and newer-generation vaccines. At the same time, findings from the mpox outbreak underscored the continuing importance of research to address antiviral resistance, strengthen diagnostic capacity, support preparedness for orthopoxvirus outbreaks, and maintain effective global countermeasure reserves.