Human Infection with a Zoonotic Orthopoxvirus in the Country of Georgia

Abstract

Summary During 2013, cutaneous lesions developed in two men in the country of Georgia after they were exposed to ill cows. The men had never received vaccination against smallpox. Tests of lesion material with the use of a quantitative real-time polymerase-chain-reaction assay for non–variola virus orthopoxviruses were positive, and DNA sequence analysis implicated a novel orthopoxvirus species. During the ensuing epidemiologic investigation, no additional human cases were identified. However, serologic evidence of exposure to an orthopoxvirus was detected in cows in the patients’ herd and in captured rodents and shrews. A third case of human infection that occurred in 2010 was diagnosed retrospectively during testing of archived specimens that were originally submitted for tests to detect anthrax. Orthopoxvirus infection should be considered in persons in whom cutaneous lesions develop after contact with animals.

Modified Vaccinia Virus Ankara

“…Eradication of human smallpox has been achieved by prophylactic use of VACV to immunize humans, the only host reservoir of the causative agent VARV. However, other members of the genus Orthopoxvirus can cause zoonotic infections (Kroon et al, 2011;McCollum and Damon, 2014;Vora et al, 2015). Moreover, recent fears that monkeypox virus (MPXV) or VARV could be used as biological weapons have renewed the interest in safe vaccines against VARV or other zoonotic orthopoxviruses (Moss, 2011).…”

Novel Poxvirus in Proliferative Lesions of Wild Rodents in East Central Texas, USA

“…A DNA aliquot of the mass from mouse 1 was sent to Otogenetics (Atlanta, GA, USA) for whole-genome sequencing with an Illumina HiSeq platform (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA, USA). From these data, we extracted 9 core genes of BtTX2014 located within the conserved coding portion of the poxvirus genome used in previous studies ( 5 ) (GenBank accession nos. MG367480–8).…”

“…The increasing use of molecular methods has resulted in the identification of several novel poxviruses from humans and animals, many of which probably represent new genera ( 2 – 9 ); often, the reported host range of these viruses is limited to the species of the index case. Novel human poxvirus infections identified in the 21st century have often been presumed to have animal origins; for example, an investigation of a novel poxvirus isolated from 2 men in the country of Georgia revealed serologic evidence of orthopoxvirus exposure in cows in their herd and in captured rodents ( 5 ). We report a novel poxvirus infection characterized by proliferative epidermal lesions in wild northern pygmy mice ( Baiomys taylori ) found at 2 localities in east central Texas, USA, and further characterize the virus through genetic analysis.…”

Existence of a weak cytotoxic CD4+ T cell population in mice infected with ectromelia virus

“…Fortunately, the relentless vaccination program instituted by the World Health Organization has led to the elimination of this virus (17). However, other poxviruses, such as the zoonotic monkeypox virus (MPXV), still pose a threat to human health (16). Therefore, investigations into ways to improve the current vaccines against poxviruses are warranted.…”