1. Human cowpox virus infection acquired from a circus elephant in Germany
- Author
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Hemmer, Christoph J., Littmann, Martina, Löbermann, Micha, Meyer, Hermann, Petschaelis, Angelika, and Reisinger, Emil C.
- Subjects
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VACCINIA , *VETERINARY therapeutics , *ELEPHANT diseases , *ULCER treatment , *VIRUS isolation , *ORTHOPOXVIRUSES , *POLYMERASE chain reaction - Abstract
Summary: A 40-year-old Asian circus elephant developed mouth and trunk ulcers. Three weeks later, her 19-year-old animal warden noticed a vesicle on his forearm, evolving into a scab. Identical cowpox strains were isolated from lesions of the elephant and the warden. Cowpox virus could no longer be isolated after the scab disappeared, but PCR still revealed orthopox DNA. Healing was complete seven weeks later, leaving a 1cm scar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2010
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