Toddler Contracts Infection from Father's Smallpox Vaccine

A 2-year old boy and his both have both contracted a dangerous infection after coming in contact with the boy's father. The father, a US soldier about to be deployed overseas, had recently been vaccinated for smallpox by the Army. Physicians treating the child and his mother say that the infection is stemmed from the father's recent military vaccination.

The boy and mother, whose names are being withheld for privacy, were both being treated in a specially ventilated room at the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital. Staff members of the hospital were required to wear face masks and gloves, the two had been placed in a special room with negative air pressure, so all air would blow inward. The young boy was being medicated with potent antiviral drug, as well as with an anti-vaccinia agent supplied by the Centers for Disease Control and the experimental drug ST-246, which was untried as a therapy in humans. The boy developed a rash that covered over 80 percent of his body and despite treatments will lose nearly 20 percent of his outer skin layer from the infection.

The physicians stress that neither the boy nor his mother have smallpox. what they are suffering from is a rare infection called eczema vaccinatum, which is related to the vaccinia virus used live in the vaccine to convey the immunity of smallpox. The condition has not been officially reported since at least 1990 when the military ended its previous program of small pox vaccinations. The smallpox vaccination program was restarted in 2002 after fears of bioterrorism, despite smallpox having been declared erradicated in 1980.

The child suffered from eczema, which is a known risk factor for contracting the vaccinia infection. People with eczema are warned not to have close contact with anyone recently vaccinated as eczema allows the virus to enter the skin. The Centers for Disease Control state on their website that the vaccinia virus is spread by touch and can cause a rash, fever, and body aches which can be severe for some. They further warn that those with skin conditions such as ezcema, or atopic dermatitis, should not get the smallpox vaccine because of the risks from the vaccinia virus. It is estimated that eczema occurs in almost 9% of the US population and 15% of children, roughly 15 million people suffering from eczema in the US and at risk from the vaccinia virus.

The U.S. Defense Department and federal, state and local health authorities have been in daily contact with the hospital about the condition of the young boy and his mother. Health officials say there is no infection risk for the general population because the vaccinia virus can be spread only through close physical contact.