Volume 12, Number 1—January 2006
Dispatch
Ocular Vaccinia Infection in Laboratory Worker, Philadelphia, 2004
Felicia M.T. Lewis*†
, Esther Chernak*, Erinn Goldman†, Yu Li†, Kevin Karem†, Inger K. Damon†, Richard Henkel†, E. Claire Newbern*, Patrina Ross*, and Caroline C. Johnson*
, Esther Chernak*, Erinn Goldman†, Yu Li†, Kevin Karem†, Inger K. Damon†, Richard Henkel†, E. Claire Newbern*, Patrina Ross*, and Caroline C. Johnson*
Table
Vaccination status and serologic evidence of vaccinia immunity of patient and contacts
| Patient and contact | Prior vaccination | Date of last vaccination | Anti-orthopoxvirus IgG present* (acute-phase serum, 10/04; convalescent-phase serum, 12/04) | Anti-orthopoxvirus IgM present† (acute-phase serum 10/04; convalescent-phase serum, 12/04) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient | No | – | –/Yes | –/Yes |
| Home | No | – | No/no | No/no |
| Worker 1 | Yes, 5ׇ | 1994 | Yes/yes | No/no |
| Worker 2§ | Yes, as child | 12/01/04 | Yes/yes | No/no |
| Worker 3§ | Yes, as child | 12/01/04 | Yes/yes | No/no |
| Worker 4§ | Yes, as child | 12/01/04 | No/no | No/no |
| Worker 5 | No | – | No/no | No/no |
| Worker 6 | No | – | No/no | No/no |
| Worker 7 | No | – | No/no | No/no |
| Worker 8 | No | – | No/no | No/no |
| Worker 9 | No | – | No/no | No/no |
| Worker 10 | No | – | No/no | No/no |
| Worker 11 | No | – | No/no | No/no |
*Immunoglobulin G (IgG) optical density cutoff value (COV) = 0.214408; –, not performed.
†IgM optical density COV = 0.015763.
‡The last vaccination was ≈10 years before this incident.
§Three laboratory workers who also manipulated vaccinia were vaccinated 1 week before the convalescent-phase blood sample was drawn (workers 2, 3, and 4). All 3 had been vaccinated as children; workers 2 and 3 had orthopoxvirus-reactive IgG levels present above the COV. Worker 4 did not have IgG levels above the COV either before or after her recent vaccination.
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