Occupational transmission of an Orthopoxvirus infection during an outbreak in a colony of Macaca tonkeana in Lazio Region, Italy, 2015

Abstract

Orthopoxviruses spill over from animal reservoirs to accidental hosts, sometimes causing human infections. We describe the surveillance and infection control measures undertaken during an outbreak due to an Orthopoxvirus occurred in January 2015 in a colony of Macaca tonkeana in the province of Rieti, Latio, Italy, which caused a human asymptomatic infection. According to the epidemiological investigation, the human transmission occurred after an unprotected exposure. The contacts among wild, captive and domestic animals and humans, together with decreased immunity against Orthopoxviruses in the community, may put animal handlers at risk of infection, especially after the cessation of smallpox vaccination. To reduce these threats, standard precautions including respiratory hygiene and transmission-based precautions should be carefully applied also in veterinary medicine.

Whole Genome Characterization of Orthopoxvirus (OPV) Abatino, a Zoonotic Virus Representing a Putative Novel Clade of Old World Orthopoxviruses

“…This suggests that, while the virus’ evolution may have been parallel to that of the ECTV, some characteristics of OPV Abatino (including the host range) may be similar to the CPXV. This is in agreement with the observation that OPV Abatino infected a group of Tonkean macaque, [ 29 ], and also caused a zoonotic infection as result of occupational exposure [ 30 ].…”

“…Contrary to this idea, besides the zoonotic cases firstly reported in northern Italy [ 28 ], two events have recently been reported in central Italy. One event, described by our group, [ 29 ] was related to the virus here described, and caused also a probable zoonotic case [ 30 ]. Another OPV infection has recently been reported in Tuscany in a household cat [ 31 ].…”

“…Most of the described OPV isolates are from northern Europe, but large areas in western, southern, and eastern Europe are still not represented. Here we present the genome wide characterization of a novel zoonotic OPV recently isolated in Italy from a Tonkean macaque [ 29 , 30 ], based on the complete collection of its putative CDS.…”

“…Preliminary analyses also indicated OPV Abatino as mostly phylogenetically related to ECTV, suggesting that it could be part of a novel clade lying between the CPXV and the ECTV. This virus presumably also caused an asymptomatic infection in a worker involved in animal care at the same location [ 30 ]. In addition, another fatal OPV infection has recently been reported in Tuscany in a household cat [ 31 ], potentially representing a novel OPV clade, with high sequence homology with OPV Abatino within the restricted core gene set of 9 CDS.…”

Orthopoxvirus Seroprevalence in Cats and Veterinary Personnel in North-Eastern Italy in 2011

“…Orthopoxvirus (OPV) is a genus of the family Poxviridae , including multiple species isolated from mammals, most of which are zoonotic viruses threatening human health. While naturally occurring smallpox infections are indeed no longer a reason of concern (except in a bioterrorist context), after the end of routine smallpox vaccination in 1977, an increased number of human infections with zoonotic OPV such as Monkeypox virus or Cowpox virus (CPXV) [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ] occurred, mainly affecting young people [ 6 ]. Reports of OPV infections in animals and humans have largely increased during recent decades, which has enhanced the perception of zoonotic potential of OPV and of increasing risk for humans.…”