Article
Clinical signs, diagnosis, and case reports of Vaccinia virus infections
Registro en:
SILVA, Daniela Carla Medeiro et al. Clinical signs, diagnosis, and case reports of Vaccinia virus infections. Braz J Infect Dis. 2010 Mar-Apr;14(2):129-34.
1413-8670
org/10.1590/S1413-86702010000200003.
Autor
Silva, Daniela Carla Medeiros
Silva, Eduardo Augusto dos Santos Moreira
Gomes, Juliana de Assis Silva
Fonseca, Flávio Guimarães da
Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de
Resumen
Vaccinia virus is responsible for a zoonosis that usually affects cattle and human beings in Brazil. The initial clinical signs of the infection are focal red skin areas, fever, and general symptoms similar to those of a cold. Then, pustules and ulcerated lesions surrounded by edema and erythema follow, as well as local lymphadenopathy that can last for weeks. Cure and healing of the lesions occur over several weeks, leaving a typical scar in the skin of people and animals affected. The infection definitive diagnosis is made through morphological characterization of the virus by use of electron microscopy, followed by PCR for specific viral genes. Since 1963, circulating orthopoxviruses in infectious outbreaks in several regions of Brazil have been reported. Later, the etiological agent of those infections was characterized as samples of Vaccinia virus. In addition, the widespread use of those viruses in research laboratories and mass vaccination of militaries have contributed to increase the cases of those infections worldwide. Thus, several epidemiological and clinical studies are required, as well as studies of viral immunology, public health, and economic impact, because little is known about those Vaccinia virus outbreaks in Brazil.