Emerging Infectious Disease ISSN: 1080-6059

Cowpox Virus Transmission from Pet Rats to Humans, Germany

Hartmut Campe¹, Pia Zimmermann¹, Katharina Glos, Margot Bayer, Hans Bergemann, Caroline Dreweck, Petra Graf, Bianca Kim Weber, Hermann Meyer, Mathias Büttner, Ulrich Busch, and Andreas Sing

Author affiliations: Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleißheim, Germany (H. Campe, P. Zimmermann, M. Bayer, B.K. Weber, M. Büttner, U. Busch, A. Sing); Haas & Link Tierärztliche Fachklinik für Kleintiere, Germering, Germany (K. Glos); Local Health District Authority, Dachau, Germany (H. Bergemann); Department of Health and Environment, State Capital, Munich, Germany (C. Dreweck, P. Graf); Bundeswehr Institute for Microbiology, Munich (H. Meyer); 1These authors contributed equally to this article.

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Figure 1

Cowpox lesions on rats and humans during an outbreak in Germany, 2009. A) Rat named Shiva (strain named after this rat) with lesions on the right hind limb; it died 1 day later. B) Neck lesions of a girl without previous vaccinia virus (VV) vaccination. C) Neck lesion of the girl’s grandmother with a history of VV vaccination. Photographs taken by authors 13 days after purchase of the rats. Patient is the grandmother (patient no. 4); rat is rat no. 2.

Figure 1. Cowpox lesions on rats and humans during an outbreak in Germany, 2009. A) Rat named Shiva (strain named after this rat) with lesions on the right hind limb; it died 1 day later. B) Neck lesions of a girl without previous vaccinia virus (VV) vaccination. C) Neck lesion of the girl’s grandmother with a history of VV vaccination. Photographs taken by authors 13 days after purchase of the rats. Patient is the grandmother (patient no. 4); rat is rat no. 2.

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