Treatment of Verruca With Vaccinia

To the Editor:— Viral warts, especially when multiple, long have been the bane of dermatologists. Although numerous forms of therapy have been proposed for these lesions, including surgery, topical chemotherapy, application of irritating substances, and even charms, nonehave been ideal. A new approach has been suggested by McGee, who reported regression of verruca vulgaris lesions in 59 of 60 patients (164 of 165 warts) after intratumoral inoculation of smallpox vaccine. 1 There were no significant side effects nor was there any resultant scar formation. This remarkable response to what appeared to be a rather simple procedure stimulated us to attempt to reproduce the findings. Methods:— Our method was that described by McGee. Unattenuated smallpox vaccine was inoculated directily into warts by the multiplepuncture technique. A total of 32 verrucae in nine subjects, with a median age of 14 years, were treated Results:— Of the 32 warts treated, 20 regressed. Morbidity,