Two Distinct Clinical Courses of Human Cowpox, Germany, 2015

Here we present two cases of human infection with cowpox virus with distinct clinical courses. A series of clinical photographs documents lesion progression over time. In the first case-an unvaccinated young veterinary assistant-a pustule was treated locally with cortisone. The lesion turned into a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Viruses 2017-12, Vol.9 (12), p.375
Main Authors: Eder, Ines, Vollmar, Patrick, Pfeffer, Martin, Naether, Philipp, Rodloff, Arne Christian, Meyer, Hermann
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abscesses
Animals
Antibiotics
Antibodies
Case Report
Cowpox
Cowpox - diagnosis
Cowpox - pathology
cowpox virus
Cowpox virus - isolation & purification
Disease
Edema
Erythema
Germany
Hospitals
Humans
Immunization
Infections
Laboratories
Lymphadenitis
Lymphatic system
Orthopoxvirus
Serology
Skin
Skin - pathology
skin lesion
Smallpox
Time Factors
Ulcers
Vaccination
Viruses
Wound healing
Zoonoses
Zoonoses - diagnosis
Zoonoses - pathology
zoonotic transmission
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Summary:Here we present two cases of human infection with cowpox virus with distinct clinical courses. A series of clinical photographs documents lesion progression over time. In the first case-an unvaccinated young veterinary assistant-a pustule was treated locally with cortisone. The lesion turned into a large ulcer accompanied by severe lymphadenitis. Based on her close contact to a sick stray cat, infection with cowpox virus was assumed and confirmed by virus isolation, PCR, and serology. The clinical course took up to eleven months until healing of the wound was complete. Transmission of cowpox virus from the cat was likely because a skin swab was PCR-positive and the cat had a high titer of anti-orthopoxvirus antibodies. In contrast, a rather mild clinical course of cowpox was confirmed in a 49-year-old male farmer vaccinated against smallpox. Only a small eschar developed, and wound closure was complete after 6 weeks.
ISSN:1999-4915
1999-4915
DOI:10.3390/v9120375