Abstract
We describe a vaccinialike virus, Araçatuba virus, associated with a cowpoxlike outbreak in a dairy herd and a related case of human infection. Diagnosis was based on virus growth characteristics, electron microscopy, and molecular biology techniques. Molecular characterization of the virus was done by using polymerase chain reaction amplification, cloning, and DNA sequencing of conserved orthopoxvirus genes such as the vaccinia growth factor (VGF), thymidine kinase (TK), and hemagglutinin. We used VGF-homologous and TK gene nucleotide sequences to construct a phylogenetic tree for comparison with other poxviruses. Gene sequences showed 99% homology with vaccinia virus genes and were clustered together with the isolated virus in the phylogenetic tree. Araçatuba virus is very similar to Cantagalo virus, showing the same signature deletion in the gene. Araçatuba virus could be a novel vaccinialike virus or could represent the spread of Cantagalo virus.
Highlights
The poxviruses comprise a family of large DNA viruses capable of infecting vertebrate and invertebrate hosts [1]
When compared to nucleotide sequences available in the GenBank databases using the BLASTN program, the thymidine kinase (TK) and vaccinia growth factor (VGF) genes from Araçatuba virus were highly similar to homologous genes of vaccinia virus (VACV)–Western Reserve (WR)
The coding region of HA gene was analyzed by alignment with similar sequences of VACV–WR and Cantagalo virus deposited in GenBank
Summary
The poxviruses comprise a family of large DNA viruses capable of infecting vertebrate and invertebrate hosts [1]. Many cases of unidentified diseases in dairy cattle with similar pathology have been reported in rural areas of Brazil, and some human infections have been associated with these illnesses in herds. Such diseases, characterized by the appearance of nodular and pustular lesions on bovine teats, are frequently related to viral infections such as. The virus is believed to persist in wild host reservoirs (including mammals, birds, and rodents), cattle, zoo animals, and domestic animals, including cats in parts of Europe and Asia Contact of these reservoirs with susceptible animals and people can trigger the onset of disease [13,14]. These facts indicate the long-term establishment and active circulation of different vaccinialike viruses in the wild in South America, similar to the well-documented establishment of buffalopox virus in India [19,20]
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