Widespread vaccination programmes led to the global eradication of smallpox, which was certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and, since 1978, there has been no case of smallpox anywhere in the world. However, the viable variola virus (VARV), the causative agent of smallpox, is still kept in two maximum security laboratories in Russia and the USA. Despite the eradication of the disease smallpox, clandestine stocks of VARV may exist. In a rapidly changing world, the impact of an intentional VARV release in the human population would nowadays result in a public health emergency of global concern: vaccination programmes were abolished, the percentage of immunosuppressed individuals in the human population is higher, and an increased intercontinental air travel allows for the rapid viral spread of diseases around the world. The WHO has authorised the temporary retention of VARV to enable essential research for public health benefit to take place. This work aims to develop diagnostic tests, antiviral drugs, and safer vaccines. Advances in synthetic biology have made it possible to produce infectious poxvirus particles from chemicals in vitro so that it is now possible to reconstruct VARV. The status of smallpox in the post-eradication era is reviewed.

中文翻译：

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消灭后时代的天花。

广泛的疫苗接种计划导致全球消灭了天花，并获得了世界卫生组织 (WHO) 的认证，并且自 1978 年以来，世界上任何地方都没有出现过天花病例。然而，天花的病原体活天花病毒 (VARV) 仍保存在俄罗斯和美国的两个最高安全实验室中。尽管天花疾病已被根除，但仍可能存在天花病毒的秘密储存。在瞬息万变的世界中，人类故意释放天花病毒的影响如今将导致全球关注的突发公共卫生事件：疫苗接种计划被取消，人口中免疫抑制个体的百分比更高，洲际航空旅行使疾病在世界范围内迅速传播。世卫组织已授权暂时保留天花病毒，以便能够进行有益于公共卫生的基本研究。这项工作旨在开发诊断测试、抗病毒药物和更安全的疫苗。合成生物学的进步使得在体外从化学物质生产传染性痘病毒颗粒成为可能，因此现在可以重建天花病毒。回顾了消灭后时代天花的现状。