Volume 25, Number 6—June 2019
Dispatch
Outbreak of Vaccinia Virus Infection from Occupational Exposure, China, 2017
Table
Epidemiologic characteristics in 5 case-patients infected with vaccinia virus from occupational exposure, China, 2017*
Characteristics | Case-patients |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 (index) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
General information | |||||
Age, y | 37 | 21 | 50 | 52 | 53 |
Sex | M | M | M | M | M |
Occupation | Worker | Worker | Worker | Worker | Intermediary |
Underlying conditions | N | N | N | N | Y† |
Current medications | N | N | N | N | N |
Immunosuppressant drugs | N | N | N | N | N |
Smallpox vaccination, y | N | N | Y, 1974 | Y, 1976 | Y, 1977 |
Vaccination scar | N | N | Y | Y | Y |
Date of exposure, March 2017 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
Exposure type and duration, min | |||||
Inside enclosed work area | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 30 |
Contact with rabbit skins, ungloved hand | 0 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 5 |
Contact with pulverized rabbit skins | 0 | 2–3 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
Disassembling pulverizer | 0 | 0 | 30 | 30 | 0 |
Washing pulverizer | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Wearing PPE |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
Clinical manifestations | |||||
Date of symptom onset, March 2017 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 6 |
Date of first doctor visit, March 2017 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
Highest temperature, °C; duration, d | 42.0; 9 | 39.2; 7 | 39.0; 5 | 42.0; 9 | 39.2; 8 |
No. painful vesicular-pustular lesions | 1 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Site of painful vesicular-pustular lesions | Left hand | Both hands | NA | Right hand, torso, upper leg | NA |
Other symptoms or laboratory findings | N | N | Headache, muscular pain | Headache, vomiting | Elevated leukocyte count |
Complication | Pneumonia | Pulmonary infection | Pulmonary infection | Pulmonary infection | Pulmonary infection |
Admitted to hospital | Y | N | N | N | N |
Treatment duration, d | 16 | 9 | 16 | 10 | 13 |
Sequelae of scar formation |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
Laboratory results with real-time PCR | |||||
Vaccinia virus (source) | + (BL, SE, NPS, CS) | + (BL, SE, NPS, LB) | + (BL, SE, NPS) | + (BL, SE, NPS) | – |
Cowpox virus | – | – | – | – | – |
Monkeypox virus | – | – | – | – | – |
Francisella tularensis | – | – | – | – | – |
Bacillus anthracis | – | – | – | – | – |
*BL, blood; CS, content of scabs; LB, liquid form blisters; NA, not available; NPS, nasopharyngeal swabs; SE, serum; +, positive; –, negative.
†Hypertension and hyperthyroidism.
1These authors contributed equally to this article.