Cowpox

Cowpox virus
Electron micrograph of three "Cowpox virus" particles
Electron micrograph of three Cowpox virus particles
Virus classification Edit this classification
(unranked): Virus
Realm: Varidnaviria
Kingdom: Bamfordvirae
Phylum: Nucleocytoviricota
Class: Pokkesviricetes
Order: Chitovirales
Family: Poxviridae
Genus: Orthopoxvirus
Species:
Cowpox virus
Cowpox
Cowpox lesions on patient's forearm on day 7 after onset of illness. The hemagglutinin gene of the isolate clustered with a Russian cowpox virus strain, and the more distantly, with other cowpox and vaccinia virus strains. The patient's dog had orthopoxvirus-specific antibodies, indicating a possible transmission route.[1]
SpecialtyInfectious diseases, veterinary medicine Edit this on Wikidata

Cowpox is an infectious disease caused by the cowpox virus (CPXV).[2] It presents with large blisters in the skin, a fever and swollen glands, historically typically following contact with an infected cow, though in the last several decades more often (though overall rarely) from infected cats.[3] The hands and face are most frequently affected and the spots are generally very painful.[4]

The virus, part of the genus Orthopoxvirus, is closely related to the vaccinia virus. The virus is zoonotic, meaning that it is transferable between species, such as from cat to human. The transferral of the disease was first observed in dairy workers who touched the udders of infected cows and consequently developed the signature pustules on their hands.[5] Cowpox is more commonly found in animals other than bovines, such as rodents. Cowpox is similar to, but much milder than, the highly contagious and often deadly smallpox disease.[5] Its close resemblance to the mild form of smallpox and the observation that dairy farmers[6] were immune to smallpox inspired the modern smallpox vaccine, created and administered by English physician Edward Jenner.[7]

The first description of cowpox was given by Jenner in 1798.[8] "Vaccination" is derived from the Latin adjective vaccinus, meaning "of or from the cow".[9] Once vaccinated, a patient develops antibodies that make them immune to cowpox, but they also develop immunity to the smallpox virus, or Variola virus. The cowpox vaccinations and later incarnations proved so successful that in 1980, the World Health Organization announced that smallpox was the first disease to be eradicated by vaccination efforts worldwide.[9] Other orthopox viruses remain prevalent in certain communities and continue to infect humans, such as the cowpox virus in Europe and monkeypox virus in Central and West Africa.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Pelkonen PM, Tarvainen K, Hynninen A, Kallio ER, Henttonen K, Palva A, et al. (November 2003). "Cowpox with severe generalized eruption, Finland". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 9 (11): 1458–1461. doi:10.3201/eid0911.020814. PMC 3035531. PMID 14718092.
  2. ^ Carroll DS, Emerson GL, Li Y, Sammons S, Olson V, Frace M, et al. (2011). "Chasing Jenner's vaccine: revisiting cowpox virus classification". PLOS ONE. 6 (8): e23086. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...623086C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023086. PMC 3152555. PMID 21858000.
  3. ^ Barlow G, Irving WL, Moss PJ (2020). "20. Infectious disease". In Feather A, Randall D, Waterhouse M (eds.). Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine (10th ed.). Elsevier. p. 517. ISBN 978-0-7020-7870-5.
  4. ^ Petersen BW, Damon IK (2020). "348. Smallpox, monkeypox and other poxvirus infections". In Goldman L, Schafer AI (eds.). Goldman-Cecil Medicine. Vol. 2 (26th ed.). Elsevier. pp. 2180–2183. ISBN 978-0-323-53266-2.
  5. ^ a b Vanessa Ngan, "Viral and Skin Infections", 2009
  6. ^ Brink, Susan (1 February 2018). "What's The Real Story About The Milkmaid And The Smallpox Vaccine?". NPR. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  7. ^ Thomas Cooper Library, University of South Carolina: "Edward Jenner and the Discovery of Vaccination", exhibition, 1996
  8. ^ "Cowpox and paravaccinia". British Medical Journal. 4 (5575): 308–309. November 1967. doi:10.1136/bmj.4.5575.308. PMC 1748782. PMID 4293285.
  9. ^ a b Abbas AK (2003). Cellular and Molecular Immunology (Fifth ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders. ISBN 978-0-7216-0008-6.