| We describe an 11-year-old girl with a cowpox virus infection, who presented with a 14-day-old crusted, ulcerated nodule on the chin/neck and a 6-day-old eroded blister on the left leg. The girl lived in a rural environment, had close contact to several cats from the neighborhood, and had an atopic predisposition. The presence of orthopox virus in the lesion on the left leg was demonstrated by electron microscopy (negative staining, transmission electron microscopy) and virus isolation. classification as a cowpox virus was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), followed by restriction enzyme digestion of the PCR product. ( info) |
2/15. Cowpox infection: not yet consigned to history. Two patients presented with hard black eschars covering granulating ulcers. The ulcers healed within 6 weeks to leave small scars. The diagnosis of cowpox was confirmed by serology in both cases and in addition by polymerase chain reaction in the first. The source of infection was likely to be a rodent in the first case whilst the second was more typical in being transmitted by a cat. ( info) |
| Although smallpox was eradicated 20 years ago, other members of the genus orthopoxvirus (OPV), such as cowpox virus (CPXV) or monkeypox virus, are still a threat to humans. Because human CPXV infection is rare, it is seldom suspected on clinical grounds only. We report a boy who presented with two necrotic ulcers with surrounding erythema. infection with OPV was suspected, as antibiotic treatment had not produced improvement and smears were negative for anthrax. An OPV was isolated and an OPV-specific polymerase chain reaction combined with a subsequent restriction enzyme fragment length polymorphism assay confirmed infection by CPXV. Although the patient's cat had had no skin lesions, OPV-specific antibodies were found at a titre of 1 : 8 in a plaque reduction assay, suggesting that the cat had transmitted the virus to the boy. ( info) |
4/15. Rat-to-human transmission of Cowpox infection. We isolated cowpox virus (CPXV) from the ulcerative eyelid lesions of a 14-year-old girl, who had cared for a clinically ill wild rat that later died. CPXV isolated from the rat (Rattus norvegicus) showed complete homology with the girl's virus. Our case is the first proven rat-to-human transmission of cowpox. ( info) |
5/15. Cowpox with severe generalized eruption, finland. Cowpox with a severe, generalized eruption was diagnosed in an atopic 4-year-old girl by electron microscopy, virus isolation, polymerase chain reaction, and immunoglobulin (Ig) M and low-avidity IgG antibodies. The hemagglutinin gene of the isolate clustered with a Russian cowpox virus strain, and more distantly, with other cowpox and vaccinia virus strains. The patient's dog had orthopoxvirus-specific antibodies, indicating a possible transmission route. In Finnish wild rodents, orthopoxvirus seroprevalences were 0%-92%, in humans the seroprevalence was 100% in the age group >50, decreasing towards younger age groups. ( info) |
6/15. Cowpoxvirus infection in the Patagonian cavy (Dolichotis patagonum) emerging disease in an educational animal park the first reported case. Generalized cowpox infection in the Patagonian cavy may represent a threat to the health of immunocompromised persons. We report the first case of cowpoxvirus infection in the Patagonian cavy in an educational animal park. The mara developed extensive pox lesions, shedding large amounts of viral particles. The ending of vaccination programmes against smallpox in the late 1970's may lead to an increase in susceptibility of humans to zoonotic poxviruses. ( info) |
| We describe a patient with facial cellulitis/erysipelas due to cowpox virus inoculation in the respiratory epithelium of the nose. A cytopathic agent was isolated in cell culture, and the diagnosis of cowpox was confirmed by electron microscopy and polymerase chain reaction. The most likely source of infection was exposure to the family cats. In addition to the severe edematous cellulitis of the face, the clinical course was dominated by several areas of subcutaneous, necrotizing lymphadenitis, from one of which a huge abscess formed that had to be incised. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment was provided to prevent development of dermal necrosis. The healing process in the numerous areas of lymphadenitis was markedly protracted, and 1 persisting node (which yielded positive results on polymerase chain reaction) had to be excised 2 years after onset of disease. This is the first reported case of inoculation of cowpox virus in the respiratory mucosa of the nose. It resulted in a clinical course totally different than that for inoculation in the skin. We also present a short review of findings on orthopoxvirus infection that focuses on the chain of transmission. ( info) |
8/15. Cowpox/catpox infection. A 19-year-old veterinary nurse developed a cowpox/catpox virus (CPV) infection of her right third finger following a scratch from a tom cat suffering from pneumonia. The clinical course and investigation of the infection are described and the differential diagnosis discussed. ( info) |
9/15. Ocular cowpox: transmission from the domestic cat to man. A clinicopathological case of ocular cowpox is reported. Cowpox is no longer regarded as being enzootic in cattle. The most likely mode of transmission of cowpox to man appears to be from the domestic cat or wild rodents. ( info) |
10/15. Cowpox presenting with sporotrichoid spread: a case report. We describe a patient with cowpox infection who presented with a sporotrichoid pattern of cutaneous lesions. This is the first report of a sporotrichoid pattern of spread in cowpox infection. ( info) |